Romantic Life of a Teenager
by Im.a.stitchpunk
Summary: Sequel to Average Life of a Teenage. Kokawa Amaya thought she had it all; best friends, a boyfriend, no stalker... but there's one thing she could never expect to happen. Sanada/OC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everybody! Miss me? Even though it's only been a few days… anyways, this is the sequel to "Average Life of a Teenager". You don't _need_ to read it to read this story, but I recommend it. This chapter is a lot of back story but I made it longer because I love you guys that much… and I couldn't wait. So here it is! The Romantic Life of a Teenager (and yes there is a plot and won't be random/cute Sanada/OC fluff)Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

"Amaya!" My best friend, Mori Kiyomi, came running over to where I stood leaning against the fence around my high school's tennis courts, her light brown hair streaming behind her as she ran full force. "Amaya! Amaya, guess what!" She jumped to a stop in front of me, panting for breath. "Takeshi and I are officially going out." We squeal together and I ask for details. "We were at Kawamura Sushi, you know the restaurant his friend's father runs? Anyways, there we were eating sushi and giggling when he blurted out that he loved me. And I told him I liked him too and poof! We're going out." Kiyomi takes my hands and bounces up and down happily.

"Aw! I'm so happy for you." I don't want to ask why she's telling me this now instead of last night when the news was still fresh but it's not my place to ask. She was probably hyperventilating all night until she finally passed out because she was, finally, dating Momoshiro Takeshi after being his friend for years.

She squealed and ran off to tell the rest of the tennis team the news. It was a warm Monday morning and we were starting morning practice in just a few minutes. We, the Girl's Rikkai Tennis Team, had won first place in the Kanto Tournament. Now we had almost a full month before the National Tournament in August. Even though we had a month to prepare practice was incredibly exhausting. Next week we were going on a weekend trip to the mountains for a little training exercise.

"Twenty laps!" Buchou, Kichida Hisoka yells just as all the regulars come spilling out of the locker rooms. Kiyomi runs up beside me and we run together. Kiyomi is not only my best friend but my doubles partner and so far we've won every official match we've played except our match against Hyotei in the finals at the Kanto Tournament.

Kiyomi and I jog together, our pace just warming us up for practice. After our laps are done we stretch and jump right into a training exercise. Hayashi Chie, our trainer, has set up various colored cans on the courts and to be able to end practice we had to hit the correct colored can ten times. Chie will toss a ball at us and shout out a color, it was our job to hit the colored can she called out. Chie enlisted the help of a few second years to toss balls and call out random colors.

"Mori! Blue!"

"Hisoka! Green!"

Names and colors were called out randomly. Balls were tossed. Cans went _plink_ and bounced off. My concentration never wavered as I focused for my name and a color. Blue. Green. White. Yellow. _Plink_, _pink_, _plink_. I win! I race into the locker rooms and take a quick shower and change for school. It's incredibly hot right now and I can't take the heat. I'm from the mountains, used to freezing winters not sweltering hot summers. I curse the sky as I saunter into the school to go to homeroom.

My locker holds nothing but my shoes, which is a pleasant change because just a few weeks ago my locker was constantly filled with hateful warning notes from a stalker. The stalker hated me because I had befriended the members on the boy's tennis team and the stalker was gay for all the members and it only made sense he was jealous of me. So Aki, the stalker, followed me home, stood outside my house at night, tossed a rock through my window, and just plain freaked me out. That happened for a few weeks before my housemate beat him up and the co-captain of the tennis team kicked the boy off the team. Since then I haven't seen or heard a peep from the boy.

.-.

School is easy. I don't want to sound narcissistic and say I'm smart because I'm not. School just comes easy to me, so I feel content with my grades. The only thing I have an issue with is my music class. I'm musically challenged. My housemate has been trying to teach me guitar but there's not much improvement. So instead of playing a musical instrument in music class I sing, this means I only get coaching 40% of the time because the teacher is teaching the class. I should be in Chorus but it won't fit in my schedule.

Practice is right after school and I change into my tennis uniform. White skirt with a yellow tank top that has a black stripe across the boobs. We also have windbreaker jackets and sweats for cooler weather but I'm sure right now, if we could, we'd be practicing in our bathing suits. After running our warmup laps and stretching we break into doubles teams and start to practice. Kiyomi and I are paired against Chie and her twin sister Madoka. Since the four of us make up the Doubles 1 and 2 pairs it only makes sense we test our skills against each other. Chie and Madoka are quite alike, both have wavy blue hair but Chie keeps hers long and Madoka's is always short.

Kiyomi and I are much newer at playing doubles than the Hayashi twins, but what we lack in experience we make up for in our connection. Kiyomi and I play like we've known each other years, we've grown to completely trust each other in such a short amount of time. That trust shows through in our game because we know each others skills and limits. Still, we lack certain skills against Chie and Madoka and eventually lose our game 3-6.

Practice ends when I can barely move I'm sweating so much. I gladly take a cool shower and get ready to head home to face my homework. With my backpack slung over my shoulder I wait outside the boy's locker room for the boys to leave and say goodbye. Kirihara Akaya, the ace of Rikkai, saunters to my side and asks a few questions about our English homework. I've been tutoring Kirihara practically since I transferred to Rikkai and we've grown quite close because of it. With his questions answered he heads home and the rest of the members walk by me with quick waves. Then three figures leave the locker room together and I smile wide.

"Hello Kokawa." The blue haired Captain of Rikkai, Yukimura Seiichi greets me warmly.

"Hello Yukimura-San! Yanagi-Senpai!" I smile at Yanagi Renji, the data collector with brown hair in a bowl cut with his eyes always mysteriously closed. "Sanada." I nod my head to Sanada Genichiro who merely tugs at the black cap he's always wearing over his raven hair. Yanagi and Yukimura leave together and head to Yukimura's house for a study session. Sanada starts walking to the school gate and I trail after him until I'm once again in stride with his long legs.

"How was school?" Sanada asks routinely.

"I hate music." I tell him honestly.

"Aa?" "I suck."

"You can't be perfect at everything."

"Well neither can you."

"I never said I was."

"I'll remember that for later." I smile up at Sanada.

"Aa. Anything else? Is Aki leaving you alone? And Yamasaki?" Yamasaki Kazumi also hated me but for other reasons. I took her place on the tennis team and she got angry and wanted revenge, going so far as to try and push me down the stairs. I got my revenge when her hair was dyed orange by my trickster friend but then she chopped off my hair. My fingers automatically play with the choppy ends of my hair that was just now starting to skim my shoulders.

"Fine. I haven't seen either of them." When I drop my hand the stoic Co-Captain brushes his hand against mine before taking it in his own. Our fingers entwine perfectly as his warmth spreads through my body. Sanada and I have been dating a month thanks to me shaking some sense into his dense skull with some screaming and crying.

"Aa. Tell me if you do." Sanada says.

"How was your day?" I squeeze my boyfriend's hand.

"The same." Sanada says that every day and I flick his arm only to have him glare down at me. "Life doesn't always have to be interesting you know."

"Yes, but _something_ must have happened today. Anybody say anything surprising? Any new rumors about our relationship? Any red marks on a test of yours?"

"I never get red marks." Sanada states matter-of-factly.

I roll my eyes, "Of course you don't."

"Nothing interesting happened." Sanada says.

"That's a better answer." I start to swing our hands together, something Sanada doesn't approve of. "You have a rather boring life don't you Sanada?"

"Aa. You make it interesting though." Sanada tells me gently.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Take it however you want." Sanada replies cryptically.

"Ok, I'll take it as an insult." I smirk to myself since everyone always takes things the good way.

"I-I didn't mean it like that Kokawa! Y-you make life interesting in a good way!" Sanada stutters, my plan worked perfectly.

"Aw, thanks." I coo dramatically before giggling and swinging our hands higher into the air. Sanada sighs, realizing I had planned it and takes his hand from mine. My hand feels instantly cold and small without Sanada's wrapped around it. "Ah! No! Don't do that." I hop to keep up with his quick pace.

"You're cruel Kokawa."

"Only because that's the only way I can ever get a reaction from you." I jump to his side and try my best to match his pace. "If you weren't so stoic my life would be easier and I wouldn't tease you all the time."

Sanada huffs and entwines our hands again silently giving in to me. "Remember Wednesday you're coming over to my house."

"And Friday we're going to the movies. Oh, can we invite Kiyomi and Momoshiro? Oh, what a cute double date that would be!" I coo.

Sanada sighs. "If you want to." I start to swing our hands against, just a little back and forth movement. He squeezes our hands and we arrive at my house. "Bye Kokawa."

"Bye Sanada." I run up to my house and wave as Sanada head home, he doesn't live far from me so we always walk to and from school together. When I enter my house I'm greeted by three cats; a black cat, a white cat, and an orange kitten. Moon, Riot, and Juice are the loves of my life. Juice mewls and I pick her up and saunter into the living room.

"Welcome home." My housemate Josh greets me. Josh has been living with us because he's studying abroad and his father and my father are co-workers. I'm not sure how to feel about the blond haired, blue eyed Irish man but we have our moments. Josh hands me my guitar and we start practice right away, he's the only one who's ever been able to teach me how to play guitar and he's the one who beat up Aki so I do owe him a lot… he just creeps me out on occasion, stalking me around the house, asking about my personal life, little things like that.

We practice guitar until the front door opens and my mother arrives home early. You never can tell when my mom, or my dad for that matter, are going to be home. Mom works at the local hospital and would probably work 24-7 if she could. Lately she's been coming home for supper so we could spend a little "family time" together. Dad on the other hand, is the founder and owner of a large company called Wa-Ware and currently he's in Russia trying to open a new branch.

"I'm home!" Mom calls out.

"Welcome home!" Josh and I reply over our music.

Mom peeks into the living room, "Do you want me to cook supper?"

"Aa, if you wouldn't mind, I have a lot of homework." I explain.

"Sure dear." Mom smiles and disappears into the kitchen to cook supper. After one more run through of a song Josh lets me go so I can work on the rest of my homework. I tap my pencil against the coffee table as I read a small section of notes for history class. How I loath history class, dates and numbers, facts and theories. If there's any class I'm "bad" at it would have to be history class.

"Supper's ready!" Mom calls when I'm halfway through my math homework. Sighing I crawl to my feet and saunter into the kitchen, since Dad's not home we just eat at the bar in the kitchen. Josh hops into the bar stool next to me as Mom serves us boiled fish, rice, and a bowl of various vegetables. Once supper is eaten and Josh and I have cleaned up the dishes I head back to my homework to finish it up before going to my room to Facebook the night away.

.-.

"_You make me smile like the sun. Fall out of bed, sing like a bird. Dizzy in my head, spin like a record. Crazy on a Sunday night._" My cell phone sings telling me it's time to wake up. I tap my phone so it stops singing and prepare for the day. Downstairs Josh hands me my lunch and I head outside to meet my boyfriend.

"Good morning Sanada." I greet him cheerfully as we head to school together.

"Good morning Kokawa." He replies.

We walk in silence, not holding hands, like we always used to do. Sanada usually doesn't hold my hand, I make the first move. Sanada's dense and embarrassed about relationships, we still haven't even kissed. Not that that really matters, my first kiss was with Kirihara on a spur of the moment type deal. That's when I realized I liked Sanada and not Kirihara. Life's perfectly wonderful right now. I don't want anything to change, not now, not ever.

At school I run off with Kiyomi and she fills me in with the latest gossip. Apparently Jackal Kuwahara, the half-Brazilian tennis player, and Fujita Tsukiko, the tallest female in history, are dating. They've had chemistry together for some time now and Tsukiko, one of my best friends, constantly talked about how attractive Jackal is. I'm glad they're together. "Oh my gosh we should all go out on a triple date!" Kiyomi squeals as we wait for homeroom to start so she run back to her homeroom for school. I smile and agree but I plan on putting the triple (or even a double) date off for as long as I can. Sanada's still rather awkward about our relationship. Last Thrusday someone asked him if we had kissed yet, Sanada got flustered, shouted "Tarundoru!" and ran off.

.-.

Practice rolls around far too soon. Jogging around the courts I feel my body warm up. Then it's practice time. We're practicing doubles again. We want at least one alternative pair in case something happens. Buchou is suppositious since just a week before the Kanto Tournament I got injured and wasn't in top shape for the first round of the tournament. Kiyomi wasn't impressed when we weren't paired together, we've vowed to always play doubles together. Still it's a good idea. Kiyomi is paired with Imai Hoshi, the spunky, black haired, second-year, and I'm paired with Tsukiko. Tsukiko is incredibly tall, taller than me and I'm 5'8", she had long brown hair in a pony tail and brown eyes and is quite fun to be around.

Imai and Kiyomi have a better combination mainly because they've played doubles together longer. They were going to be the substitute doubles incase I couldn't play in the first round. Still Tsukiko and I tried our best to find a combination that worked for us. We found when she stays at the baseline and I take the net we do much better. Our game ends 6-4, Kiyomi-Imai won.

"I only want to play doubles with you." Kiyomi pouted as we shuffle to the locker room. I have to tell her we need to be prepared for anything but Kiyomi just pouts some more. After a fast shower we head outside together, Tuesdays have become our girl's day. And it's my day to choose where we'll be going.

"Arcade." I tell Kiyomi. Tsukiko and Imai are suddenly our best friends, clinging to our arms as we head out.

"Where ya going?" The redheaded, self-proclaimed genius, Marui Bunta asked before popping a bubble.

"Arcade, come with." Kiyomi holds out her hand to Marui who loops their arms and we head out. Jackal and Kirihara follow after us, when we reach the school gate I find Yanagi and Sanada talking about something, probably tennis.

"Yanagi-Senpai!" Kirihara races forward and hugs Yanagi's arm tightly. Since Kirihara and I have decided not to date each other he's become more and more childish, clinging to others, pouting, and even crying. I think it's both adorably cute and annoying. "Senpai! Come to the arcade with us! Please?"

"I have to study Akaya." Yanagi tells him, patting the boy on the head who starts pouting. "Ask Genichiro." Kirihara turns his large green eyes to Sanada who stares back at him like Kirihara has three heads.

"Don't be stupid Kirihara." Marui rolled his eyes before popping another bubble with his apple flavored gum. "We all known Fukubuchou is electronically retarded."

"Tarundoru!" Sanada yells before slapping the back of Marui's head. "Thirty laps tomorrow!" Marui rubs the back of his head and glares.

"Kokawa!" Kirihara stares at me with his wide eyes, "Make Fukubuchou go with us… _pleeaaaasseee_." He whines.

"What makes you think I can make him do anything?" I ask.

"Because you're dating him." Kirihara states.

"Sanada can make his own decisions you know."

"So he's not whipped… yet." Marui snickers and Sanada's slaps him again.

"Bye Sanada, Yanagi." I say dragging Kirihara off to the arcade. Once we're at the arcade Kiyomi and I head straight for the DDR game where we set to work defeating any and all scores higher than ours. We hop and jump and dance the day away. Finally Jackal and Tsukiko tell us it's time to head home like good, responsible senpais. Our day always seems to go by too fast. I say goodbye to my friends and head home alone. I suppose I could take a bus but I feel like walking.

The sky is turning a pale orange color. It's hot, sweat rolls down my back as I walk. It's almost winter, I'm so ready for snow and cold. Maybe for my birthday I can bring my friends home. That would be so much fun.

.-.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

At school I run off with Kiyomi and she fills me in with the latest gossip. Apparently Jackal Kuwahara, the half-Brazilian tennis player, and Fujita Tsukiko, the tallest female in history, are dating. They've had chemistry together for some time now and Tsukiko, one of my best friends, constantly talked about how attractive Jackal is. I'm glad they're together. "Oh my gosh we should all go out on a triple date!" Kiyomi squeals as we wait for homeroom to start so she run back to her homeroom for school. I smile and agree but I plan on putting the triple (or even a double) date off for as long as I can. Sanada's still rather awkward about our relationship. Last Thrusday someone asked him if we had kissed yet, Sanada got flustered, shouted "Tarundoru!" and ran off.

.-.

Practice rolls around far too soon. Jogging around the courts I feel my body warm up. Then it's practice time. We're practicing doubles again. We want at least one alternative pair in case something happens. Buchou is suppositious since just a week before the Kanto Tournament I got injured and wasn't in top shape for the first round of the tournament. Kiyomi wasn't impressed when we weren't paired together, we've vowed to always play doubles together. Still it's a good idea. Kiyomi is paired with Imai Hoshi, the spunky, black haired, second-year, and I'm paired with Tsukiko. Tsukiko is incredibly tall, taller than me and I'm 5'8", she had long brown hair in a pony tail and brown eyes and is quite fun to be around.

Imai and Kiyomi have a better combination mainly because they've played doubles together longer. They were going to be the substitute doubles incase I couldn't play in the first round. Still Tsukiko and I tried our best to find a combination that worked for us. We found when she stays at the baseline and I take the net we do much better. Our game ends 6-4, Kiyomi-Imai won.

"I only want to play doubles with you." Kiyomi pouted as we shuffle to the locker room. I have to tell her we need to be prepared for anything but Kiyomi just pouts some more. After a fast shower we head outside together, Tuesdays have become our girl's day. And it's my day to choose where we'll be going.

"Arcade." I tell Kiyomi. Tsukiko and Imai are suddenly our best friends, clinging to our arms as we head out.

"Where ya going?" The redheaded, self-proclaimed genius, Marui Bunta asked before popping a bubble.

"Arcade, come with." Kiyomi holds out her hand to Marui who loops their arms and we head out. Jackal and Kirihara follow after us, when we reach the school gate I find Yanagi and Sanada talking about something, probably tennis.

"Yanagi-Senpai!" Kirihara races forward and hugs Yanagi's arm tightly. Since Kirihara and I have decided not to date each other he's become more and more childish, clinging to others, pouting, and even crying. I think it's both adorably cute and annoying. "Senpai! Come to the arcade with us! Please?"

"I have to study Akaya." Yanagi tells him, patting the boy on the head who starts pouting. "Ask Genichiro." Kirihara turns his large green eyes to Sanada who stares back at him like Kirihara has three heads.

"Don't be stupid Kirihara." Marui rolled his eyes before popping another bubble with his apple flavored gum. "We all known Fukubuchou is electronically retarded."

"Tarundoru!" Sanada yells before slapping the back of Marui's head. "Thirty laps tomorrow!" Marui rubs the back of his head and glares.

"Kokawa!" Kirihara stares at me with his wide eyes, "Make Fukubuchou go with us… _pleeaaaasseee_." He whines.

"What makes you think I can make him do anything?" I ask.

"Because you're dating him." Kirihara states.

"Sanada can make his own decisions you know."

"So he's not whipped… yet." Marui snickers and Sanada's slaps him again.

"Bye Sanada, Yanagi." I say dragging Kirihara off to the arcade. Once we're at the arcade Kiyomi and I head straight for the DDR game where we set to work defeating any and all scores higher than ours. We hop and jump and dance the day away. Finally Jackal and Tsukiko tell us it's time to head home like good, responsible senpais. Our day always seems to go by too fast. I say goodbye to my friends and head home alone. I suppose I could take a bus but I feel like walking.

The sky is turning a pale orange color. It's hot, sweat rolls down my back as I walk. It's almost winter, I'm so ready for snow and cold. Maybe for my birthday I can bring my friends home. That would be so much fun.

.-.

It's Wednesday and I'm currently watching Sanada practice his kendo. I bite my lip to keep from commenting on how attractive he looks in his hakama. That would just embarrass the both of us to no end. Twisting Sanada's black cap around in my hands I watch him for another second before I go back to my geography homework.

"Ha!" _Shink. Thunk_. I glance up at Sanada who turns around and looks at me. A blush blossoms across my face and I look away. "Is something wrong Kokawa?"

"N-nothing." I murmur.

"Don't lie to me." Sanada says sternly.

"It's nothing." I tell him as I peer up at him through my bangs. He huffs and goes back to his kendo. I shake my head to clear it and start on my homework. This is our usual routine, I go to his house once a week (if not more) and I sit and watch him practice kendo while doing homework. Sanada's only been over to my house twice since we've started dating, mainly because the first time it was just us and Josh and then Josh "left to go get some milk" for almost two hours. We both decided it was too awkward to go over to my house if Mom isn't around.

"Supper's ready you two." Haruko, Sanada's wonderful mother, peeps her head into the dojo. Sanada tells me to go ahead while he goes off to change. I've become a second daughter to the Sanadas so I have no problem wandering around their house and eating their food. I settle into my usual spot at the table. Genemon, Sanada's grandfather smiles wide at me and asks me how my day was. While we talk Genjirou and Haruko sit down across from me. Genjirou, Sanada's dad, is a lot like his son only he shows a little more emotion.

"Where is that son of mine?" Genjirou asks as he stares at the lovely meal Haruko made for us.

"Who cares, it means I get his wonderful girlfriend all to myself for a little longer." Genemon teases me. His teases work and I blush deeply and look away.

"Sanada was changing." I mumble.

"You still call him by his family name?" Genemon asks, "_Tsk, tsk_."

Of course I do, Sanada calls me by family name, besides it'd be weird to call him by his first name… Genichiro…Genichiro… Hm it sounds nice though.

"Ah! Gen-Chan!" Haruko smiles over my shoulder. I will not be calling Sanada that.

"Sorry everyone." Sanada bows and settles beside me. "I had to sharpen my katana."

"Couldn't that have waited until after supper?" Genjirou asks.

"No." Sanada and Genemon say together. Genemon teaches kendo, something that amuses me to no end.

Genjirou huffs in defeat and supper starts. It's pleasant everyone chit chats about the latest news, not that I listen to the news. Sanada speaks shortly about school and tennis and avoids all questions on our relationship. I'm invited into the conversation but usually I just sit back, I like watching how the Sanadas interact with one another.

After supper Sanada and I wash the dishes. My mind goes back to a time when Kirihara washed the dishes together and our hands touched… that was the night he kissed me. I giggle and Sanada glances at me before leaving me alone. The warm, soapy water feels nice on my hands as I scrub dishes with a little washcloth. Suddenly Sanada's hand grabs a hold of mine and I jump. "Sorry." Sanada removes my hand.

I bump my hip with Sanada's. "Don't be sorry, you just jumped me is all. I'm still getting used to the fact _you_ hold hands with _me_."

"That makes no sense. I hold hands with you all the time."

"That's not what I meant genius." I roll my eyes and Sanada smacks his elbow into the back of my head lightly. "What I meant is you taking my hand. If I do remember correctly _I _was the one who had to grab your hand the first time…. And you didn't even want this relationship."

"That was only because I feared this would get in the way of tennis." Sanada says gruffly.

"And has it?" I ask as I start to rinse the dishes.

"No." Sanada says surely. And I'm trying so hard not to lose it and break down crying over every little thing. Sanada doesn't need that stress and I'm just being stupid half the time. I hand dishes to Sanada to dry and we work silently. When I hand him the last plate he sets it aside and grabs my hand, holding it tightly. My heart stops and I can't help myself from sighing. I really do adore this guy. "Do you want to head home now or later?" Sanada asks, his free hand drying the last dish.

"Ah… do… do you want me to stay longer?" I ask.

"I would, so long as you don't have homework or a certain time you need to be home."

"Then I'll stay." I release Sanada's hand, "You know I have no curfew."

"And homework?" Sanada asks putting the last dish away before we head back to his room.

"I did all my homework." I say honestly, even if I didn't I wouldn't pass up a chance to sit with Sanada and watch a game show for anything. Sanada's bed is fluffy and comfortable when I hop onto it. The TV clicks on and Sanada settles beside me, much more rigidly than I did. How the two of us managed to fall for each other is beyond me sometimes. "Relax." I rub his shoulder gently only making him more tense so I drop my hand, defeated.

"S-sorry Kokawa." Sanada stutters.

"What?" I ask.

"I… I don't mean to be so tense around you…" He's got his head down and his annoying black cap is covering his face.

Pulling the hat off his head I give him a reassuring smile, "It's ok. We're both new to this." I set his hat on my head and lean back against the wall and watch the TV show. Sanada's so cute when he gets awkward but it only makes me feel more awkward. I always pictured he'd be the confident one in a relationship… suppose I was wrong, maybe as time goes on he'll be more comfortable like when we hold hands. Just as I think that Sanada takes my hand. I squeeze his hand and set my head against his shoulder.

We sit like that for some time, commenting idly on the TV show. When Sanada finally moves to tell me it's time for me to head home my shoulder is asleep and prickly in pain. I sit up stiffly and wiggle off the bed. Sanada hands me my backpack and we head outside together. It's just turning dark now but I don't live far from Sanada's. We walk side by side, holding hands, not saying anything. It's just like old times (can a few months be referred to as old times?) only we're holding hands.

"Sanada."

"Aa?"

"What are you going to do with your life?"

"Teach kendo like my grandfather."

I can't stop myself as I burst out laughing. All I can picture is Sanada standing in front of a few little boys with his stern face yelling "TARUNDORU!" at them. It's a sad but funny picture. "Sorry Sanada… you'd make a great teacher." And I snort.

Sanada puffs up his chest and acts as if I never spoke. I giggle the rest of the way to my house. Sanada leads me up to the door and turns as if he's running away. "Sanada." I whine making him turn around. When he peer at me from under his hat I hold out my arms, silently asking for a hug. For a second Sanada looks like he's just going to turn and leave before he jogs up beside me, squeezing me incredibly tight and letting me go in a second. It's a quick hug but a hug none the less. "See you tomorrow." I tell him.

"Aa." And just like that he's gone leaving a warm, spicy, musky scent behind. At first every time I smelled that smell I'd get embarrassed because it's a cologne my mother bought him for his birthday, now it's just become a part of who he is. I think even he's grown to like the smell of it too. Or maybe it's the fact I stuff my face in his chest and just smell him for long periods of time occasional, no that can't be it, Sanada's too shy and get's embarrassed when I do that…. Unless… unless he secretly likes it. Yes that's it! Sanada likes it when I obviously smell him.

.-.

A/N: Hey everybody, I just wanted to warn you don't expect updates as often as ALT (Average Life of a Teenager). I had an incredible head start while writing ALT and not so much with this one… I'll update at least once a week… I'm hoping to update once every three days or so. Just warning you all.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

It was early Friday morning when Sanada, Yanagi and myself arrived at school. Today we were heading off for our mountain adventure. All the senpais have been referring to this trip as "Hell's Weekend." The newbies, AKA Kiyomi, Imai, Kirihara and myself, figured they were all just teasing us and were excited for this field trip. Sanada lead me to the parking lot where a few regulars had already shown up. Tsukiko and Jackal stood close together each nursing a caffeine filled drink while Buchou and Yukimura were checking bags. Kirihara was passed out on a bench nearby, no doubt dragged here by Yukimura. After I set my bags down beside Sanada's I shove Kirihara off the bench and take his spot.

"Hey!" He cries out before rolling onto his hip and falling back asleep. I snicker and curl into the warmth he left behind. We're leaving so early the sun isn't even up in hopes we'll get to the camp before sunset so we can have a few more hours of practice. Who needs sleep? I do.

The next thing I know is someone is sitting on me, squishing the breath from me. I moan and open my eyes to see Kiyomi sitting happily on my stomach. "Get _off_." I whine at her, "You're heavy." She "harrumphs" and jumps off me. My blue-grey eyes scan the crowd and I realize just about everyone has arrived, only Niou and Marui aren't present. With a stretch I hop off the bench and head to where my boyfriend was checking bags with Yukimura, Kichida, and Sasaki Setsuko, the gentle and quite Co-Captain.

"Masaharu said they're on their way." Yagyuu says as he snaps a phone shut.

Sanada mutters "Tarundoru" and Yukimura just sighs. Minutes later Niou and Marui arrive, after a slap each from Sanada they explain that Marui over slept because his brothers unplugged his alarm clock as a prank and Niou had to spend a lot of time waking Marui up. Marui is too tired to pop a bubble with the gum he's lazily chewing but Niou, the white haired Trickster is sipping at a cup of coffee with shiny eyes. I roll my eyes at their story and in a few minutes all the bags are loaded onto the Coach bus we'll be taking. How this managed to fit into our budget I don't know. A teacher, probably our unofficial Coach since I've never actually seen an adult monitor our practice, saunters up holding a suitcase and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Ready?" He asks. The man is middle aged with black hair that's starting to grey a little with sleepy brown eyes. He's dressed rather formally in slacks and a nice button up. I figure he's just coming to supervise and will stay in the camp and read and be boring all day. Yukimura and Kichida speak quickly to him before he saunters onto the bus and the Buchous turn to us.

"Alright, we will arrive home Sunday night." Kichida starts out.

"This camp is to train our skills and become the best we can be." Yukimura smiles at us. "Nationals are right around the corner and we have to be in top condition to win. We never know who or what we'll be facing." Will we be facing a giant penguin on the courts? I have to say that would honestly scare me out of my game if that happened. I wonder if Niou's ever thought of doing that.

"We have a few ground rules to set up." Kichida says. "When we arrive there will be no boy's in girl's rooms and vice versa." She narrows her acid green eyes at me, Sanada, and then more narrowly at Jackal and Tsukiko. "I do not want any personal displays of affection between any of you!" I keep myself from rolling my eyes.

"There will be no alcohol, drugs, weapons, or anything of the sort on this trip." Yukimura glares at Niou and Marui who both grin a little too wide so Sanada tarundoru-slaps them. "If we find any of those items you will suffer a severe punishment." Yukimura smiles too nicely and it makes me think that he's going to exile us to a frigid mountain with nothing more than the clothes on our backs. Or torture, Yukimura would be the type to torture someone.

"Add on another bar to your power wrists and then head on the bus." Kichida says almost politely. We've had power wrists on for the past week and they're not very heavy, Chie's made me wear ankle weights too. I stand by Sanada and look up at him with large eyes, silently asking if he'll sit with me. He looks down at me and sighs before heading up onto the bus and finding a seat near the back. Settling in next to him I stare out the window.

"Why are you sitting in the back?" I ask, "You strike me as the type to sit in the front." Adults usually sit in the front on field trips.

"Someone needs to watch those guys." He jerks his thumb over his shoulder and motions to Marui, Kirihara and Niou who are in the last row of the bus by the bathroom with evil smirks on their faces. I turn around in my seat, point a finger at them and glare. They glare back but I don't give in and soon Kirihara is cowering behind Niou who's still glaring at me.

"Niou-San," I say sweetly, "remember what I said about you pranking me ever again? That little deal I told you… it still stands remember that." Niou tricked me into going over to Sanada's house when we first met, so I tricked him into thinking Sanada and I had sex and then warned Niou if he pulled another prank on me I'd kick him in the family jewel's.

"Are you sick?" Sanada presses his hand to my forehead, "You're face is red."

"No, I'm fine." I tell him not wanting to say I'm blushing at the thought of us doing it. That's just weird and way too early to be thinking about. Kiyomi and Imai sit in the seat in front of us and Tsukiko and Jackal behind us. Yanagi and Yagyuu sit in the middle and Setsuko, Yukimura, and Kichida all sit closer to the front with Madoka and Chie somewhere in the middle. I relax into Sanada as the bus starts and pulls out of the parking lot. This is going to be an interesting ride.

.-.

"Yellow car!" Kiyomi jumps from her seat in a lame attempt to smack the top of the bus. "Fail!" We all yell back at her, and by we I mean myself, Imai, Tsukiko, Niou, Marui, and Kirihara. Kiyomi sticks her tongue out at us.

"No more yellow car!" Buchou yells back at us. We all whine until Sanada yells "Tarundoru!" For the last hour we've all been prowling out the windows looking for yellow cars and when you spotted one you had to be the first to touch the roof yelling "Yellow car!" It's incredibly annoying and fun to play. Sanada glares out the window as Imai, Kiyomi and I play yellow car a little more stealthily.

"Kokawa." Sanada finally stands his ground. "Stop."

"Fine." I sigh and lean into my comfortable seat. I literally start to twiddle my thumbs and hum a random song until Sanada takes my hand in his and stops my twiddling. "Dude, what do people do on long bus rides?" I complain.

"You're the one who drove from wherever the heck you're from to Kanagawa." Imai glanced back at me.

"I just listened to my iPod." I shrugged.

"Then do that." Sanada suggests.

"You don't want me to do that." I tell him. "I seat dance, and lip-sync… and occasionally just plain sing." They all roll their eyes and Kiyomi and Imai go back to gossiping. I lean forward to find we're gossiping over who Imai likes.

"Twenty questions." I announce.

"Yes or no answers." Imai retorts.

"Deal." Kiyomi and I say together.

"Does he go to our school?" I kick off.

"No."

"Does he go to school in the Kanto District?"

"Yes."

"Does he go to a school in Tokyo?"

"Yes."

For what feels like hours Kiyomi and I make baby steps towards finding Imai's crush. Kiyomi, in the end, guesses it. Imai has a crush on Kikumaru Eiji, a boy from Seigaku that I've never met before. Kiyomi and her start to talk about the Seigaku boys so I just lean back and avoid the conversation. Why talk about people I don't know?

I glance at Sanada, and when he looks at me I look away, when he looks back out the window I look back at him. We continue this cycle for a few times before Sanada trains his eyes on me. "What?" He asks. I smile and lean on his arm. He huffs, "Is that all you wanted?"

"Mhm hmm." I hum as I get comfortable and close my eyes to try and get some sleep. It doesn't come, not that I expect it too, I never sleep on cars. So instead I just daydream and focus on the way Sanada barely moves, he's made of stone. I sit up suddenly and punch his arm, it makes my hand throb and he glares at me. "You're made of stone." I state.

Niou, who was walking by to ask Yagyuu, his doubles partner, something bursts out laughing and falls into Kiyomi and Imai who shriek and shove him away. Niou rolls around on the floor, tears prickling in his eyes. Sanada glares at him and I giggle. "Y-y-you're gi-girl-friend…." He tries his best to speak, "made of stone!" "Are you high?" Kiyomi asks.

"Or drunk?" Imai asks.

"Or just plain weird?" Tsukiko asks.

Niou sits up and smirks, "No, I just like making Fukubuchou and Kokawa feel awkward." Niou turns his attention to Sanada who's glaring daggers at Niou a for sure sign that he is in fact either embarrassed or pissed.

"You can't make me feel awkward Niou." I tell him.

"Oh yea?" Niou quirks an eyebrow, "I bet I'll make you feel awkward sometime this weekend."

"Deal." I tell him. "If I win you leave Sanada and I alone for two months, no pranks, no teasing, nothing."

"And if I win, I get to tease and prank you and Sanada however much I want for two months."

"Tarundoru!" Sanada yells just as I say deal and shake Niou's hand. Niou scampers back to his seat, no doubt planning on how to make me feel awkward. Man, what have I gotten myself into now? "I am not made of stone Kokawa." Sanada grumps.

"I doubt that." I tell him with a smile, "You're practically emotionless like a rock, you don't move like a rock, and you're as solid as a rock. Therefore you are clearly a rock." Kokawa Logic is the best. I swear. Sanada mutters something about not being a rock and goes to stare out the window.

I find my own beat in my head and start to jam out to it. Tapping and head bobbing and all. I'm sure I'm annoying Sanada but it's fun to annoy him. He glares at me out of the corner of his eye and I return it with a sweet smile. "Hey, I'll stop dancing if you give me your hat."

"I will not make a deal with you over something as simple as you dancing to imaginary music."

"Then I shall keep dancing." I close my eyes and wiggle to a fast paced beat I made up in my head. "Na. Na. Na. Da-da-da-da!" I start to sing lightly until I feel something drop onto my head, Sanada's hat, and I instantly stop singing and dancing.

"Man you're annoying." Kiyomi glances back at me.

"And you're not?" I retort.

She sticks her tongue out at me and talks back to Imai. What else am I supposed to do? Sanada doesn't talk and I don't know anybody to gossip about with Imai and Kiyomi… and there's no way in hell I'm going to talk to Tsukiko and Jackal who are talking in hushed voices behind us… or go and talk to Niou, Marui, and Kirihara and risk losing my bet. Suddenly Sanada wraps his arm around my neck and pulls me to him. I giggle when he leans down and whispers in my ear, "Stop singing."

"I can't help it." I whine before giggling as he tickles my sides. "I'm bored."

"Meditate." Sanada lets me go and stares out the window.

"You are no fun at all." I pout.

"Thanks for finally realizing that." Jackal pipes up from behind me. Sanada doesn't even move to glare at him. Everyone goes silent again, and music can be heard playing through the bus, just barely so you can tell it's there but not what anybody is saying. I make up words, in my head of course, and try and listen as hard as I can to the music.

Suddenly there's something wet on my cheek and I yelp and jump into Sanada's lap to see Niou smirking at me. "Ew did you just lick me?" I rub my cheek. "That's gross Niou!"

"Puri~ Did it make you feel awkward?" He asks.

"No!" I make a lame attempt at kicking him and he scurries away. "You'll have to do better than that!"

"I shall!" Niou calls back.

.-.

A/N: Me and my best friend played Yellow Car one time and annoyed the crap out of my mom and one of her friends… so they started calling out any object that was yellow so eventually it became a game of Yellow Thing and we shouted out "Yellow guard pole thinger on the electric wire!" and other random things like that… it is an annoying, but fun, game.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'm really sorry I haven't posted in…. two days… oh… alright, I thought it was longer than that. (I'm still sorry) I've been really busy with my school's drama club and homework and life.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

The bus finally stops in front of a nice log cabin. "Finally!" Kirihara yells before racing off the bus, determined to be the first one off, he claimed he had to pee and refused to use the bathroom on the bus. All of us had gotten mental images of the bus suddenly stopping and Kirihara, pants down around his ankles, falling from the little bathroom. Nobody wanted to see that so we let the kid race past us. The rest of us took our sweet time taking our backpacks from the overhead compartment of the bus and shuffling off, one by one.

We're up in the mountains, I can feel it in my skin. It's cool and moist and smells of nature. The sun is still pretty high in the sky so we'll no doubt be playing tennis today. There's a small dirt driveway where the bus was parked, a large green field, a decent sized log cabin, and off to one side is a collection of tennis courts with high, rusted fences. Yagyuu pushes up his glasses and mutters something about infection. My ears strain to hear the sounds of nature I'm so desperately longing to hear. Birds chirped, leaves crinkled, a gentle breeze brushed through the trees, and if I strained my ears enough I could hear the trickling of water. I breath deeply and twirl around.

"You're like some freaky Snow White." Madoka teases.

"Is that some freaky messed up compliment?" I ask, my hands on my hips.

"No." Madoka smiles.

"Sorry I'm some freaky nature freak." I glare.

"Freaky nature freak." Imai snickers as she hoists her suitcase up and over her shoulder. With that, we all head inside to explore the place. It opens up into the living room with a bathroom off to the side. There's a small hall that leads to the other side of the house where the kitchen and dining room are. Between the two is four doors, two on either side, the bedrooms. Lastly, on the far end of the house is the two bathing rooms. Male and female. It's like they designed this house for the girl's and boy's tennis teams to come here and enjoy themselves… or go through hell.

Kiyomi grabs my hand and drags me into one of the bedrooms. Kiyomi, myself, Imai, and Tsukiko will be sharing this room. Two bunk beds are pushed off to one side with a large rug and desk in the middle, against the opposite wall is two large dressers. "Top bunk!" Kiyomi shrieks before clambering up one of the bunk beds. "Top bunk!" Imai shouts climbing like a monkey into the other bunk bed. "Glad I wanted a bottom bunk." Tsukiko mutters flopping into the bed under Imai. I agree with her and lay in the last bed. For a minute we just lay there, our first down time all day.

Too soon there's a knock on our door and Setsuko calling, "Practice time girls." We all groan and she leaves us alone. None of us move for a long time before I drag myself from the bed and open my bag and take out my tennis uniform.

"I'm changing right here." I announce as I yank my tank top over my head.

"Thanks for the warning." Tsukiko complains.

I change in a second and head outside where a few guys standing there. I stand by Sanada, our shoulders touching, he doesn't move as we watch Yukimura and Kichida talking and motioning to the tennis courts. Slowly, the guys and girls saunter around us. Sanada takes a breath and looks like he's going to go stand with Yukimura and Kichida to look powerful like he does, but then he glances down at me and stays put.

"If you want to go then go." I nudge him with my arm gently.

"No." Sanada says stiffly, and who am I to argue with him.

So finally Yukimura and Kichida turn to us and announce our exercise. We'll be tossed a ball with a color strip (red, yellow, blue) and we have to hit it to the matching colored cone. If we miss, don't hit the cone, or hit the wrong cone we have to do fifty laps around the field, and if we want any water to drink we have to run down an incredibly long path to the river I heard earlier.

Chie, Yanagi, Buchou and Yukimura all take one of the courts and call out a random person. Kokawa, Marui, Kirihara, Tsukiko! I step up and smile nervously at Yukimura who smiles back. He takes out a ball and serves it over lightly to me. My eyes adjust and I see red. I aim for the red cone, only the ball doesn't fly as far and barely hits the cone.

"Huh?" I ask.

"What was that!" Kirihara yells, his ball barely made it too.

Yukimura giggles, "The ground is at an angle, so depending on what side you're on you'll need to hit lighter or harder." I'm on the lower end so I need to hit harder. Yukimura hits another ball. Blue. I hit with more power and the ball smacks into the cone. I last quite a few rounds until the ball Yukimura hits barely bounces over the net and I have to race forward to hit it. My knee gave and I stumbled, the ball just barely missed. "Fifty laps Kokawa." Yukimura states, "And do thirty squats to strengthen your knees." I'm the first out and I feel like such a loser but I turn, with some dignity, and start my laps.

.-.

All together I think everyone played two games (if you average that one game is equal to twenty balls). My legs feel like jell-o and my body's covered in sweat. I ran a hundred laps, did seventy squats, twenty pushups, thirty sit ups and ran down to the river six times for water. After a shower I soak in the incredibly large and warm tub with the rest of the girls. Slowly my body relaxes and I wish I could just fall asleep right here, right now.

_Splash_. Water splashes up into my face, jerking me from my rest. Kiyomi has a wicked grin on her face. "Ugh." I groan, too tired to retaliate. None of us are incredibly hyper at the moment, we've all been worked quite hard. I can only imagine what horrors tomorrow will bring. With a reluctant sigh I pull myself from the water and get dressed in my pjs before heading to the living room.

All the boys are in the bath except Sanada, he looks up from his book for a second before going back to it. I curl into the seat beside him and set my head on his shoulder. He took a shower; his hair is wet and clinging to his face. Sanada continues to read for a moment, finishing the chapter before he sets his book aside, telling me it's ok to cuddle up against him. I do just that, wrapping my arms around his waist and snuggling under his arm, he sighs as he rubs my back gently. Only recently have I decided I liked snuggling with Sanada, I'm the perfect size compared to him, I fit right under his arm and can snuggle against the crook of his neck without difficulty.

"Kokawa." Sanada's mildly annoyed with me. "I was reading."

"You're the one who put the book down." I say childishly, setting my head against his chest. His heart is beating fast, do I make him nervous? We sit like that for some time, I close my eyes and listen to his heart slowly return to a normal beat. When I hear footsteps in the hall I sit up and Sanada goes back to his book like nothing ever happened.

.-.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Bzzzzt! Hehe. Tap, tap ta-tap._

"Who are you guys texting?" I moan.

"Takeshi."

"Kuwahara."

"Eiji."

"Ugh!" I roll onto my hip so I'm facing the wall and pull my blankets up to my nose. "Sorry my boyfriend is electronically retarded."

Kiyomi snorts, "Sanada's a retard."

Imai snorts too but Tsukiko warns them, "If he hears you say that he'll tarundoru-slap you."

"And it hurts." I mutter.

"He's hit you before?" Kiyomi asks as Tsukiko giggles at some text from her boyfriend.

"No." I half-lie, Sanada didn't mean to the few times he honestly hit me; I'm so tomboyish, now we just teasingly punch and smack each other, like a love bite, it doesn't hurt. Besides, in some masochistic way, it makes me feel better about myself whenever Sanada teasingly taps the back of my head, it means he still cares what I do and what I say and I'm not getting in the way of tennis. I let out a long sigh before snuggling into my blankets, trying my best to ignore the stupid texting around me.

.-.

"Rise and shine princesses." Kichida says sweetly. The sound of the door opening woke me up in a second, I sit up and Kichida smiles at me before we both glance around us. Kiyomi's leg is dangling off the edge of the bed and she's breathing heavily, Tsukiko lets out an occasional snore, and Imai looks dead. It's not my place so I gather my toiletries and shuffle off to the bathroom. Setsuko is the only one in the bathroom when I saunter in. We greet each other and I set to work brushing my hair and making sure my teeth are clean before I change into some shorts and a tank top. My body turns groggy, the shock of waking up so early ran it's course and now I'm sleep deprived. My stomach growls and clenches telling me it wants food and it wants it now. After I drop my stuff back into my bed, happily seeing all three girls are at least attempting to move and get out of bed, I head to the kitchen to get breakfast.

"Good morning Kokawa."

"Good morning Yanagi… Sanada. Is Yukimura getting ready?" I ask my two friends as I get a cup of yogurt and a banana before I settle beside Sanada.

"Aa." Sanada nods his head.

Yanagi looks towards the hall, as if he's waiting for someone. "86% chance Marui and Niou will oversleep."

"Tarundoru." Sanada mutters before going back to his breakfast.

"Well I know all my girls were at least moving when I left," I shrug, "though the could have fallen back asleep."

"89% chance Mori has fallen asleep." Yanagi states.

"So you have data on both of us already?" I ask, "Well, I understand having data on me… since I'm always around you and all… ah…" I trail off.

"Never doubt Yanagi's data." Yukimura pops up behind me, jumping me out of my skin, "Sorry Kokawa. Good morning though." And with that he sits on my other side.

Soon enough everyone is in the kitchen or dining room getting some form of breakfast. Some people; Kiyomi, Kirihara, Marui, and Niou, are dragging themselves around while others; Jackal, Yagyuu, Kichida, and Chie, are wide awake. I make idle chit chat with whoever would listen before we're all ushered outside.

As one huge pack we all jog down the road, down the mountain, until it connects with another road and then we jog back up the road, up the hill. The jog itself isn't very long, it's just the mountain is pretty steep. We have to run it four times, my knees are burning with the extra effort and I make a quick run down to the river for a drink of water. When I return we've split up into pairs, girl-boy, and have to play a round robin. Teams are odd to say the least. Kichida Hisoka-Marui Bunta, Sasaki Setsuko-Kirihara Akaya, Hayashi Chie-Sanada Genichiro, Hayashi Madoka-Niou Masaharu, Fujita Tsukiko-Yanagi Renji, Imai Hoshi-Yukimura Seiichi, Mori Kiyomi-Jackal Kuwahara, and Kokawa Amaya-Yagyuu Hiroshi. I shyly look at the bespectacled gentleman, out of all the regulars I know him the least.

"Let's have a good game senpai." I say gently.

He pushes his glasses up on his nose and watches me. The only interaction I've really had with Yagyuu is when I had a concussion from a tennis ball, he and Yanagi would make sure I was healthy. Any other time he's been incredibly quiet, preferring to observe and react than be the center of attention like his doubles partner Niou. Our first match is against Kiyomi and Jackal. I smirk at Kiyomi, I know all her habits, and I'm pretty sure I understand Jackal's play.

.-.

Yagyuu is a nice doubles player, he's methodical and we work out a nice system. We beat Kiyomi and Jackal 7-5. Then it's on to Imai-Yukimura. Yagyuu and I try our hardest, we understand each others skills after our last match and I know when to stay out of his way so he can perform his special shot, Laser Beam. Still, we're no match for Yukimura who leads him and Imai to a 6-4 win. Yagyuu and I take a break and watch the matches progress. Sasaki and Kirihara have a pretty bad combination, Kichida is too stiff for Marui's play style, but other than that the combinations are decent enough.

"Is this so we can learn to adapt or something?" I ask as I start to stretch my hands over my head.

"Yes." Yagyuu replies, "None of these pairings have ever happened before, it's new territory, it's to gauge who can adapt quickly. You need to have such skills in tennis in case something happens to your partner."

"Yea, like when I got my head injury." I state.

"How is your head by the way?" Yagyuu asks politely.

"All healed up." I tell him with a smile.

He nods his head, pushes his glasses up and heads to the court where we face off against Madoka and Niou. This should be interesting, Niou and Yagyuu have played doubles together for five years now, they know each other inside and out. I smile at Madoka who's bouncing on the tips of her toes. I like training camp it's just incredibly long practices so far.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

Yagyuu and I beat Niou-Madoka. We beat Kichida-Marui and Sasaki-Kirihara. Yanagi and Tsukiko kick our butts, curse Yanagi's data! And we lose to Chie-Sanada, curse their data and power! So in the end we won four games and lost three, not bad for a brand new team. My body throbs with acceptance as we jog down to the road and back up before doing our squats and lunges and other stretches. I think this is the first time in a long time my butt has hurt so much and my knuckles feel like they're not attached to my body anymore. After we finish our hundredth lunge we were free to go, most finished long before me but I took extra care in stretching, my knees straining painfully.

"Are you coming?" Sanada asks as I step with my left foot and stretch.

"I'm on my 99th." I tell him before I start to count down from ten, my knee starts to shake but I hold myself until I reach zero before I step with my right and stretch. Sanada says nothing as my knee shakes with the effort, I think it's going to fall off or burn to a crisp either way it'd be painful. "Done." I stand up, my legs shaky. Sanada's leaning on the side of the house with his arms crossed over his chest. "You didn't have to wait." I tell him when he pushes himself from the wall.

"Aa. Let's go get a drink of water." He says walking past me, away from the house, curious I turn and follow him. We walk down the path to the river, my heart thumps in my chest and I hear my blood racing in my eardrums. Why would Sanada make me walk all the way down here when we could just get a glass of water inside? At the river I kneel and drink greedily from the cold river. When I stand I rub my wet hands against my sweaty shorts and look up at Sanada. He watches me and I cock my head to the side staring back at him.

He holds out his arms, just barely, and I walk carefully into them. I press my palms against his chest and feel the sweat still lingering in his shirt. For a while we stand like that, Sanada's arms around my waist and mine on his chest before he pulls away and heads back to the cabin. My brain scurries to decipher his actions but I shut it up. Sanada doesn't follow logic. Instead of trying to find out what he wanted I jog to his side and lace our fingers together that are clammy with sweat. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't hold hands with Sanada after a workout, I don't like the feeling of clammy hands but right now it doesn't bother me.

At the cabin we break to take showers and join everyone for supper. I sit with my girlfriends and he sits with his friends, I made a vow not to lose my friendships. Kiyomi reaches around Tsukiko and snipes a piece of fish from Imai's plate. Imai and Kiyomi start to yell and argue before I steal a piece of Kiyomi's fish from her plate. We're all laughing and talking and enjoying ourselves despite the fact our bodies are burning in agony.

"Man, Buchou is relentless." Kiyomi moans, rubbing her back as the fight over fish dies down. "I can't feel my ass."

"That's because you don't have one." Tsukiko retorts.

I snort and Kiyomi pokes me with her fork. "I have an ass." She tells Tsukiko.

"Ah, no, you don't." Tsukiko shakes her head and tries to go back to her meal.

"I'll prove it."

"How?" All three of us ask.

Kiyomi stands suddenly and struts over to Marui, Niou, Jackal, and Kirihara. They all glance at her curiously, suppose they didn't hear our conversation. "Do I have an ass?" Kiyomi asks blatantly before turning around to reveal her rather flat behind. Jackal chokes on his water and looks away, straight into Tsukiko's eyes. Kirihara looks confused and Niou and Marui both snicker. "Well?"

"You do have an ass." Niou says, "Everyone does."

"I'm assuming you want to know if you have a nice ass." Marui says before he pops a bubble. "If that's the case…. You're ass is kinda flat."

"Says the fatty." Niou snickers.

"I'm not fat!" Marui yells before stuffing his face with food.

Niou snickers and turns to Kiyomi who's pouting. "Mori-San, not everyone likes big butts, so don't worry, you'll find the right guy someday. Puri~"

"Don't you dare plan anything." I yell over at him. Niou's aqua eyes meet mine and I can see them sparkle. Kiyomi sulks back over to us and Tsukiko rubs it in her face. Imai laughs at Kiyomi who pokes her in the side, starting up another fight. I can't help but giggle at my friends, despite the fact we're all dead tired we're so full of life right now.

"Since you girls are clearly still wound up, to the road and back twice." Buchou says over the conversations in the kitchen. "Imai, Mori, Fujita, Kokawa! Now!" "But-!" We all start to protest, I wasn't doing anything! "Three times!" Buchou says in her Captain voice, what she says we do without question. With a groan we all grab a flashlight and slip into our sneakers. Outside it's starting to cool down, birds are twittering, frogs croaking, this is my time of the day. It's still predusk, everything's starting to turn grey as we jog down the road. Our flashlights bounce up and down really not helping us that much. I suck in air as I jog, I run ahead of my friends just wanting to finish my laps, I wasn't even doing anything anyways. I lap them twice, they're so slow, and saunter back into the dining room glad I haven't taken my super long shower yet.

Everyone's chatting quietly but I slip around the crowds to the showers and take an incredibly long shower. I stand under the steady stream of hot water and let it relax my muscles away. With my bones turned to jelly I change into my pjs and head back out to mingle, everyone had moved off to the living room it looked like except Yukimura and Buchou. They were discussing training schedules, combinations, budgets, and other things. I sulk off and find Chie with Yanagi discussing playing styles in the corner of the living room.

"Senpai," I say gently, "can I add another bar to my weights?" I haven't felt the weights at all over the last two days, I suppose that's why I've been getting so exhausted but it's nothing I can't handle.

"Sure." Chie takes out four more bars for me and she and Yanagi smile at me. Yanagi hands me a little slip of paper and I wander off to my room. I'm not in the mood to get in more trouble. Sliding the bars into the slots on my weights I read over the slip of paper. It's a training schedule. Yanagi says it's to increase my stamina and knee condition. It's a lot of jogging and squats. With a sigh I put in my headphones, turn it to the song I'm learning for chorus and set to work squating and lunging the best I can in the small room.

"You are such a dork." I spin around and find Kiyomi standing in the doorway looking smug. When I flip her off she flops onto my bed and looks over the schedule, "Overachiever."

"You should be working on your stamina too." I tell her, when she only rolls her eyes I go back to my squats. She watches me for a little while before rolling onto her back and kicking her feet up into the air one after the other.

.-.

Sunday we were up at the crack of dawn. Running and running and practicing and practice… and then running some more and practicing some more… and just when you think you couldn't possibly move another inch Buchou is shouting "ONE MORE LAP!" I want to cry as I bend over my suitcase packing up my clothes. My body is stiff and the added weights paid off today. Kiyomi isn't moving on my bed, I think she might have died. Imai thinks the same thing and tickles Kiyomi's foot, she merely groans and rolls over. Sadly she rolled the wrong way and fell off the bed landing with a loud thump.

"Ah! Son of a bitch!" Kiyomi cries out.

We all laugh at her, even after she flips us off and then kicks us as best she could. Bags packed we all lug ourselves out of the cabin and onto the bus. Sanada's waiting, of course he is, and doesn't bother looking at me when I sit beside him. When the bus starts to move I look longingly out the window at the cabin. I liked it here, the mountains, the cool(er) air, the trees, the sounds of nature. We'll come back soon, I believe it. For a little while people murmur about the camp, not loud enough for me to understand what they're saying. Sanada stares out the window but makes no audible sounds, his eyes searching the darkness. Shamelessly I lean against Sanada's arms and close my eyes.

For a while the bus is silent and I can feel my exhaustion pulling me under. Sanada breaths lightly, I can feel his body moving with each breath. I sigh and he shifts so he can put his arm around me, holding me close to him. "Awww." I barely hear Kiyomi coo in front of us, I flip her off sleepily. Suddenly there's a warm hand on my thigh, I squirm a little, the hand's warm and I figure it's Sanada. Then, it slowly starts to rise up my thigh, centimeter by centimeter. I elbow Sanada in the ribs and murmur for him to stop. Sanada grunts and says he's not doing anything. Then who's hand is on my - "Niou!" I shriek, my hand instantly searching for something to slap. It collides in with Niou's cheek who stumbles back into the other isle seats. Regret fills me instantly, but Niou sits up and grins wide, "I totally made you awkward!" I'm blushing deep red and I'm sure Niou can tell under the faint yellow lights on the bus. "I made you feel awkward!" Against my better judgment I hide my face in Sanada's side. "I win!" Niou yells.

"NIOU SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Yukimura shrieks. Niou squeaks and scurries back to his seat, not wanting to taunt us because he's afraid of Yukimura… especially a sleep deprived, cranky Yukimura. I can hear the blue haired Buchou grumbling and telling Yanagi to remind him to give Niou a hundred laps tomorrow.

"No morning practice." Kichida calls out and we all cheer halfheartedly.

"T-" Sanada starts to say but I elbow him again.

"We're not all made of stone…" I murmur before snuggling into his side.

"Aa." Sanada puts his arm around me and I close my eyes, the rise and fall of his warm chest lulling me to sleep.

.-.

"WAKE UP!" Buchou yells sadistically, I jolt awake and groan loudly. It's pitch black, the lights on the bus are off but when my eyes adjust I realize we've stopped, we must be home. Sanada nudges me and I crawl out of the bus after Imai who's even more asleep than I am. A light turns on and everyone groans and squeezes their eyes shut from the bright light. When I step on the stairs my toe catches and I'm launched forward into Imai's back. My weight and her sleepiness knocks her off balance and into Yanagi who grips the railing to keep himself from falling over. The three of us groan. Sanada grabs my arm and yanks me back and I pull Imai back.

"Sorry Imai… Senpai…" I mutter as we step out into the warm night. The bus was really cool, even with Sanada's body heat, and I shiver at the temperature difference. Buchou and Yukimura are dragging our bags out to which I lazily grab my and drag it off. Sanada slung my backpack over my shoulders and, taking my hand, starts to walk me home, a single flashlight guiding our way. We say goodbye and shuffle off. "Y-yan…" I yawn stopping my sentence.

"Renji will join us shortly." Sanada doesn't sound tired at all as I stumble after him. He takes my bag from my hands and lets me walk without needing to lug the bag. Why did I feel the need to bring so much stuff for a weekend trip? Right, I'm a girl, it's practically expected I bring an excessive amount of things everywhere I go. In a few minutes Yanaji catches up to us, his long legs catch up to my slow pace quickly.

"Hello." Yanagi says calmly.

"Ugh." I grunt and shuffle the best I can.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Yanagi asks me.

"Ugh." I grunt again, my hands dangling at my side all heavy and limp from the weights. Stupid weights.

Yanagi chuckles and I trip against my own feet. We walk in silence and I just about fall asleep while walking. All I want is to go home and curl up in my nice warm bed and forget about everything for a few hours. Sanada walks me up to my house and gives me a gentle hug before passing me my bag. I wish the two boys good night and shuffle inside. Mom's sitting at the kitchen table when I walk by, she glances up at me and smiles. "How was the trip dear?"

"Ugh." And I shuffle away.

My bed welcomes me back with it's soft, fluffy blankets. I'm asleep instantly.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

"Amaya! Amaya wake up!" A voice yells over some hiphop tune playing. "Amaya you'll be late!" Someone shoves me hard and I wake with a jolt when my face slams into the floor.

"Ahhh!" I groan as I start to roll around on the floor.

"Amaya you'll be late!" Josh yells at me.

Realization hits me, I've over slept! "Shit!" I shriek before running around my room to pack my backpack and change and get my tennis bag ready for school. Josh leaves me alone and when I run downstairs he stuffs a bento box into my bag as I pull into my sneakers. "Bye!" I yell before running out of the house. Sanada's standing there looking impatient. "Sorry!" I gasp as we walk quickly down the road.

"Aa."

We arrive at school just before school starts. I tell him goodbye before running off to homeroom. In homeroom I fold my arms on my desk and try to close my eyes for at least a little while but the chatter of people around me keep me at least half awake.

.-.

I drag through my day, most of my sensei's just snap at me but let me go because they know about the trip we took. After school I bang my head a few times against my locker to wake myself up. Madoka pats my shoulder sadly and ushers me outside. Kiyomi and I jog stiffly through our laps. Then it's off to practice. My wrists are sore from the weights and my knee still aches. Buchou ends practice after just an hour, all the regulars shuffle into the locker rooms for a hot shower. I stand under the hot water until Buchou rips back the little curtain blocking my shower off from the others. I shriek and she yells at me to get out of the shower and then storms off. Embarrassed I dry quickly and dress before heading outside.

Yukimura hasn't called off practice, only Kirihara and Marui seem to be in any form of discomfort. Since they love me I step through the gate and curl up on one of the benches, watching them practice. I'm not going to disturb practice. Yagyuu settles beside me, Niou's running laps because he picked on some first years and they're working on doubles formations right now.

"Hello Kokawa-Chan." Yagyuu says politely.

"Hello Yagyuu-Senpai."

"You don't need to address me so formally if you wish." Yagyuu says.

"Aa…" I nod my head and watch as Marui-Jackal cream their second year opponents without breaking sweat. "How many laps does Niou have?"

"80." Yagyuu looks over my shoulder and pushes his glasses up, "Niou-Kun's done ten laps."

"He's taking forever…" I say absently as Marui creams another opponent with his "genius" tennis skills. "Yagyuu-S-… san, would you like to play doubles with me?" I ask, "I'm sure Marui would like a little challenge." Yagyuu and I weren't that bad a team but we won't stand up against them.

"I would love to." Yagyuu stands up and I take out my tennis bag, I'm glad I didn't change back into my school uniform, my tennis uniform is so much more breathable. "Jackal-San, Marui-San, would you care to play a match with us?" Yagyuu asks as two little freshman scurry off the court incredibly frightened of facing the Nationally ranked team.

Marui pops a bubble and looks over his shoulder at us. "Are you two serious?"

"Do we look serious?" I point to Yagyuu's face which is just as stoic as Sanada's always is. Marui snaps another bubble, glances at Jackal who nods his head. Marui shrugs and blows a bubble to snap it. I lean over and pop it with my finger, it deflates without making the annoying _snap_ sound. "Let's play." I smile sweetly.

When I turn around to head to the baseline Yagyuu's smiling. He adjusts his glasses and hands me a tennis ball. They'd let me have first serve even if Yagyuu wasn't the gentlemanly type. Women should always serve first. I bounce a ball a few times and stare down Jackal. He's a solid player, nothing gets by him. Yagyuu shifts, leaning more on his right foot before he shifts back. I focus, taking a deep breath, before I toss the tennis ball into the air and smack it hard with my racket. It zooms over the net but Jackal's quick to return it. Yagyuu moves to return, Marui moving at the same time, blocking off Yagyuu's return. At the last second Yagyuu's racket stops and the ball flies by and right into my racket. I hit a topspin-lob that zooms high into the sky. Marui leans back and pops a bubble, "It won't make it." He says confidently.

I smile, Jackal doesn't think it'll make it either. At the last second the ball drops and _pok_ lands inches from the line. In. I make a peace sign at Marui who snaps another bubble in response. I get ready to serve again, bouncing the ball a few times, my mind whirls through the various tennis moves I've seen lately. I bounce the ball high, jump up and smash the ball with all my force. Marui runs to return it and I hop up to catch the return, flying it back towards Jackal.

A rally starts up. All four of us move with ease. I voice where I'm going because Yagyuu doesn't seem to speak much. Niou was telling me the other day how their formation was crap at the beginning because of that, but it got better over time because they were able to read each others tells. Tells. Tells. Mannerisms. I watch everything, my eyes darting quickly, watching what happens before someone hits a shot. Marui likes to pop a bubble when he's preparing a volley. Jackal plants his feet more when he's prepared for an attack. Yagyuu pushes his glasses up after a smash. If Niou can observe so much through a game I can too. Marui moves his head ever so slightly to the opposite side he moves. I use it to my advantage and aim for shots near Marui's feet.

Yagyuu jumps behind me to return a high lob, smashing it at Jackal's feet. Jackal hops back just a bit and hits a rising shot. I'm on the move and return it back towards Marui as Yagyuu lands from his smash. Marui hits his tightrope walking shot, the ball wiggled and danced along the rope before it started to fall right into Yagyuu's racket. He'd dove for it, knowing the ball would land somewhere on our side. I ran back to cover for him while he got up. I like playing with Yagyuu, once I learned the extent of his abilities and where he had flaws, he was incredibly rigid, playing became easier.

"Game and match Jackal-Marui 7-6." A second year calls out. Marui raises his fist into the air before he fell back, panting and gasping for breath. I thought he'd over come his stamina issue by now. But then again we're all sweating quite a lot, even Jackal is breathing a little heavy. Yagyuu and I just couldn't get that last shot, damn you Marui. I bump fists with Yagyuu and rub my hands against my knees to brush off the dirt and the little blood from diving for so many shots.

We all take a break after that they're all drinking from their water bottles. My water bottle is empty from my own practice so I pant and try to cool off with a little towel around my neck. Suddenly something bumps into my shoulder and I look up to see it's Sanada holding a water bottle.

"We can't have you dehydrate." He says firmly before pressing the water bottle into my hands. I glance at the name to be sure that yes, this is Sanada's water bottle.

"Thanks." I tell him before drinking greedily from the lukewarm bottle. He sits beside me and observes the players.

Niou walked by, glanced at the two of us and smirked. "Letting her use your water bottle Sanada-Fukubuchou? How cute."

Sanada stiffens beside me before he glares up at Niou, "Fifty laps. Now!" Niou smirks and turns to run his laps, again. "Kokawa," Sanada whispers, "why do people always tease us?"

I smile at how innocent Sanada's being, it's a nice change. "They tease you, Sanada. They do it because it makes you feel awkward and you show it."

"Why doesn't it embarrass you?"

"It does. I just don't care what others say." I glance at him, he's got his forearms on his knees and he's leaned forward like he's watching an incredibly good tennis match. "All that matters to me is that you and I are happy together. Right?"

"A-aa." Sanada stutters. "W-would you want to go out tomorrow night?"

"I would love to."

Someone wolf whistled. Niou probably.

"Twenty more laps!" Sanada yells, he stands to his feet and leaves my side, probably to find something to do. I sip from his water bottle and watch the second years practice serves.

Someone sits beside me and I glance to see it's Yukimura. "Have you thought about next year at all?"

"Next year? For what? My relationship with Sanada? Hell no, I never expect anything… especially with how awkward he gets… sometimes I think he's just going to dump me because Niou picks on him too much." I murmur my worries to Yukimura.

He giggles, "That's not what I was talking about sweetheart, but I can honestly tell you he won't dump you over something stupid as that. I've known him long enough to know."

"How do you know?"

"Just trust me." Yukimura smiles sweetly.

"If he dumps me because of Niou I will hunt you down." I warn. "But what did you mean about next year?"

"The tennis season is almost over." Yukimura relaxes beside me. "That means the next Captain and Co-Captain are going to be picked." My heart drops. "That means either you, Imai, or Mori are going to be Captain."

"I don't think I could lead a group of people." I say quietly, I'm a follower not a leader. Imai and Kiyomi would be better Captains and Co-Captains than me.

"It's not your decision though, Hisoka will decide and for the remainder of the year she's going to let you guys try and get used to being the leaders… only then if you really don't want to do it you can ask her. Hisoka has never failed picking a new Captain and Co-Captain." Yukimura pats my shoulder, "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

.-.

_You'll do fine. You'll do fine._ Yukimura's words spin through my head as I lay in bed that night. I push them from my head, of course I'll do fine. I have to, I've trained my whole life it seems. Rolling over to my hip I reach out and pet Moon's fur until she starts to purr. It's easier to fall asleep with Moon purring beside me.

"_It's just not working."_

"_Please, please don't." I beg._

"_We just don't match up." "So? Plenty of people fall in love with nothing in common."_

"_That's just not us." "Please, don't… I love you."_

"_I don't love you."_

I wake up sobbing. Wiping my tears on my blanket I push thoughts from my head, Sanada's not going to dump me, we do have things in common anyways. I will not doubt our relationship. I will not doubt our relationship.

When I head outside to meet Sanada he quirks an eyebrow at me. I slink away and try to hide. "Why's your face red?" Crap.

"I-ah… ah-…. N-nothing." I shake my head.

"Kokawa." Sanada says in his tough Co-Captain voice.

"I just had a bad dream. It's nothing." I tell him quickly.

"D-d… do you want t-to talk about it?" Sanada asks.

"No, it's fine."

"Isn't… isn't that what good b-b-boyfriend's do?"

I smile up at him, "Yes, but you asking is more than enough. If I don't want to tell, I don't want to tell." I shrug. "Thank you for caring."

"Of course I care." Sanada says firmly.

"I care too." I tell him.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

Semifinal time baby! Kiyomi and I are jacked up on excitement, we've done so well as a team, we've had close matches but haven't lost yet. Of course I'm not cocky thinking we won't lose, but I am riding this high for as long as I can. Today we're going against Seigaku. The girl's team is much better than the boy's team apparently. Kiyomi and I warm up off in some quiet place. People of all shapes and sizes from different schools wander around. We focus on nothing but the match.

Kiyomi and I step onto the green court for our first match. Two skinny girls walk out and shake hands with us. One has straight black hair and the other has dark purple hair. Their grips are weak. They get first serve, better. I've been mastering my ability to read people. Sanada and I go out to the street courts at night and I play against anyone who's willing, I time myself to see how fast I can learn someone's tells. I'm at three games for a doubles match. There's a lot to watch in a doubles match. Kiyomi takes the baseline first and I watch the purple haired girl get ready.

Kiyomi takes most of the shots for me, I need to focus. The only shots I really take are the return from the serve and shots aimed directly at me. Got it. The purple haired girl steps backwards every time she's going to hit a back hand that goes cross court. The black haired girl raises her racket a little whenever she's going to hit a powerful, straight shot. We may be down 1-2 but I've found just enough information to help us out. After I tell Kiyomi what I notice I watch her go to the net. My serve. I bounce the ball a few times before I toss it into the air and hit it. The second I do I watch the two girls closely. The black haired girl likes hitting backhand shots and they're powerful.

Kiyomi does well at the net, she changes direction quickly and she's not afraid to dive for a ball. Our combination has never been better as we work smoothly around each other. The ball flies through the air at a constant pace, a pace I set. The two skinny girls, despite their surprising power, are caught in the web we've spun. I make them run, Kiyomi makes them dive and bend, we're going to wear them out. By the end of the sixth match 4-2, we're feeling pretty good about ourselves. I sip from my water bottle and think about how to win this match.

When we get on the court something has changed about the girls, there's now a fire in their eyes. One serves with sudden strength, screaming with the effort. When I return the shot it makes my wrist tingle. Finally they're showing us a real power, Kiyomi and I both know that means trouble. We're not use to playing powerful players, especially two at once. Everyone we've every played was fast or analytical.

"Game to Seigaku! 4 all!"

I pant frustrated at the two skinny girls, all their tells were just a rouse. They have no tells. They stand perfectly still until just before they hit, I can't notice anything. Maybe my eyes aren't good enough yet. Kiyomi tells me not to worry, we've won tough matches before. We bat wrists, our wrists weights _thunk_ together, we still could take those off and increase our speed if it got that bad.

We head back to the courts prepared for a tough time. The two smile sweetly but the power in their shots is incredibly. Their bodies have to be complete muscle. How'd they manage to do that? Stop. Focus. Aim low, make them bend, they have to have a limit.

"Game to Seigaku! 5-6."

Kiyomi is leaning on her racket trying to catch her breath. All of us are tired, the last two games have been long intense rallies. My knee is starting to burn but I'm not going to give up. We have to win. We have to win! We can do it!

I bend lightly at the net, my knee hurts, Kiyomi's probably noticed and she's taking most of the shots now. There's nothing more we can do. The purple haired girl barely touches the ball and hits a drop shot. Kiyomi dove for it. I back up to cover for her. The black haired girl catches Kiyomi's return and aims for the deep corner. I run hard but at the last second my knee drops and I fall, my racket barely missing the ball. Damn it!

"Game and match Seigaku 5-7."

Kiyomi helps me stand and we shake hands with the two girls who look incredibly smug. My partner helps me limp off the courts. We did our best. We did all that we could do. Setsuko cleans the dirt out of my knee, it was torn up pretty bad when I took that digger. My ego hurts worse than my knee. We lost, we lost when it was most important for us to win.

"Don't worry." Setsuko says quietly, "We still have a lot of time to win."

"Aa." I tell her as she wraps my knee with some gauze. Deep down inside I know it's not alright, we could have cost our team the win… no Buchou would never let us lose. Have faith in the team. Kiyomi and I sulk beside each other we tried our best. "Hey." I murmur as Chie and Madoka start their match against two tall girls.

"What?" Kiyomi grumbles. She's just as frustrated about our loss as I am.

"This is the first year we've played as doubles… there's a learning curve." I tell her. "Maybe Buchou will let us play against Jackal or some of the guys so we're used to more power… it's nothing we can't overcome." I try to find the positive side.

"Yea, you're right, but it's just a pain."

"Aa. So when we win who will we play next?" I ask confidently.

"Right now Yamabuki and Hyotei are in a match." Imai hops down a seat and settles behind the two of us, "So whoever wins that game we'll play."

"I hope it's Hyotei." Kiyomi says.

"No, I want Yamabuki to win. New people to learn about."

Kiyomi rolls her eyes and we hear an exasperated groan and turn to see Madoka took a digger. Instantly I'm on my feet concerned for my teammate, a dull pain in my knee reminds me how unforgiving these courts are. Madoka pushes herself to her feet, her leg bleeding. Chie inspects it before she tied a cloth around it. They have a few minutes top. I glance at the score board 3-0. We'll win. We always win.

"Let's go! Let's go! Rikkai!" I start cheering.

Before I know it we're all shouting and cheering. Madoka stays back and allows her sister to make most of the hits, Chie analyzes everything and finds a pattern that makes it easier on her. Chie runs less and less. The balls start to head towards her, almost every single shot directs itself back to her. Tsukiko called it Chie Zone and it's a rough imitation of Tezuka Kunimitsu of Seigaku's Tezuka Zone. Still it's a cool move.

"Game and set Rikkai 6-1!"

"Whooo!" Everyone screams. Chie and Madoka do a little secret handshake and bump hips before they shake hands with their opponents. We have a three minute break between singles and doubles. Tsukiko vanished with Imai so that she could warm up. Kiyomi and I link arms and head off to find a vending machine. We find a vending machine under a small tree, the shade is nice and cool compared to the blistering sun that's making sweat roll down my back uncomfortably. Sadly there are a mass of four girls staring at the vending machine not really talking about the drink they want to buy but rather gossiping about boys and the competition.

"Did you see those Rikkai freaks?" One with pigtails taunts.

"They're the biggest bunch of freaks ever." A black haired girl agrees.

Kiyomi's body tenses beside mine and I grab her elbow to keep her from punching them in the face.

"Did you see that tall girl? She's like a freaking giant. I swear she's a boy." The short, boyish looking girl hisses.

"You wanna go!" Kiyomi shouts, stepping forward her hands raised. I grab her arm and try to stop her. The four girls turn, across the left breast of their green and white uniforms read Yamabuki. Yamabuki is a Nationally ranked team, they won Nationals two years ago and despite losing to us last year they're rumored to be an incredibly strong team. All four of the girls look tougher than we are, more built and adult like.

"What did you say?" Pigtails asks.

"You wanna go?" Kiyomi repeats herself not backing down.

They all step up. The boyish one puffs up her flat chest and peers down at us, "You're shrimps and you want to go against us?"

"Yea!" Kiyomi yells puffing her chest out, she's still at least four inches shorter than the shorter girl… and Kiyomi's about my height. But she needs my support, I can't back down against these girls. They're insulting our team, _my_ team. I puff up my chest and pull as stoic a face as I can, impersonating my boyfriend.

"You don't want to mess with us." I say as evenly as I possibly can.

They look at us and laugh before the last girl, neon red hair, gets right into my face. I glare her down, my eyes narrow and we watch each other for a minute before she leans back and starts laughing. It's a deeper almost _huh-huh-huh_ kind of laugh. What manly women. Kiyomi pushes through the middle of them, we want our stupid drink, but they surround her, pressing their shoulders together so Kiyomi has nowhere to go.

"Hey!" I shout grabbing the nearest one on the arm. Faster than I can blink the girl's arm flies out and strikes me across the cheek. I crumple to the ground and hold my cheek feeling it throb in pain. Kiyomi's at my side in a second and we glare up at the older girls who laugh.

"What's going on here?" A deep voice sends shutters though my body. Sanada.

The girls squeak but one steps up, "Why do you care? _Genichiro_." My heart thumps in my chest, she knows Sanada? My boyfriend. I look to him but he reveals no emotion.

"Leave the girls alone unless you want both the Rikkai tennis teams to get involved." Sanada threatens coolly.

"Whatever." Pigtails rolls her eyes and they all stalk off. Sanada stands still for a second, watching their backs leave before he comes to my side rather quickly. Kiyomi pokes my cheek and I hiss in pain.

"Are you ok?" Sanada asks gently.

"Aa." I swat their hands away, "I'm fine." They hover too close to me when I buy myself a Ponta, it's cool and I press it to my cheeks. Still they linger too close to me trying to see if I'm ok. "Guys, I'm fine really!" "Singles Three of the Rikkai-Seigaku match please report to the courts. Singles three." An announcer says calmly over an intercom.

"Let's go Kiyomi." I loop arms with my girlfriend and nod my head to my boyfriend.

.-.

A/N: So…. Today me and my dad went out to play tennis and by play I mean hit attempt to hit a ball back and forth regardless of how many times it bounced… yea we were shown up by two young kids (like Ryoma's age or younger) I felt reaaaaaaaal good about myself but that was the second time I've ever played tennis (excluding gym classes back in like 8th grade). I am by no means a Kokawa Amaya (tennis skills wise).


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

Tsukiko has gained a lot of stamina lately, she ran back and forth throughout her entire match and after a 20 minute match she had barely broken a sweat. She beamed at all of us, thrust her fist into the air and let out a loud, "YEAH!"

Kiyomi nudged me eagerly, her arm stuck to mine in a sticky sweaty manner but neither of us cared, "We get to see Fukubuchou in action!" She squealed. We'd never seen Setsuko play a serious game before. I sit on the edge of my seat not only because I'm excited but my thighs keep sticking to the bleachers and it's uncomfortable. The sun makes everyone sweat, I'm panting just sitting here. Setsuko walks onto the courts her back straight and she reminds me of Yagyuu; that calm, quiet, politeness.

She shakes hands with her opponent, a chirpy redheaded girl with large wide eyes. Setsuko wins first serve but politely gives it to the redhead. I watch Setsuko closely, screw the second year, I need to watch how Fukubuchou moves. She bends at her knees, too deep for me to manage for an entire match, and springs herself forward to hit the return. Setsuko doesn't move much, she controls the redhead into moving and hitting where she wants. She doesn't use data tennis but she's got a good idea of where the ball will go if she hits it at such an angle. She stays close to the baseline, preferring to be just to the right of the center line, her body moves and twists with each shot to get as much power into them. Suddenly the redhead hit a lob. I watch in anticipation for Setsuko to smash it, there's a split second where I think she won't but instead she launches herself up, just after the apex of the lob and smashes the ball right at the redhead's feet.

"She's amazing." Kiyomi murmurs.

"Aa." I wiggle and feel my thighs stick to the seat, I can only imagine how hot Setsuko is playing in this heat.

By the end of the fourth game I have Setsuko and the redhead figured out. Setsuko is a counter-puncher, she stays near the baseline until she feels she can really go on the offensive and smashes the ball close to the redhead's body. Setsuko never loses control of the game. The redhead is a serve-and-volley type, she uses flashy moves and her flexibility to try and confuse Setsuko up. Nothing works and before I can blink the game is over.

"14 minutes, you're getting sloppy." Buchou chides Setsuko playfully.

"Aa, sorry Hisoka." Setsuko smiles.

Wait a second… we won! We won! "We won!" I shriek.

"We won!" Kiyomi shrieks along with me.

We hug, our bodies sticking together but we could care less we won! Like good little ducks we go and line up and bow to the girls who seem frustrated at losing to us. Then we're free Kiyomi and I run through the crowds looking for her boyfriend. We find Seigaku watching a match between Hyotei and Shitenhoji. Seigaku didn't make it to Nationals, how sad. Still Kiyomi wraps her arms around her boyfriend and beams up at him.

"I guess you girls did good huh?" Momoshiro asks hugging his girlfriend.

"Of course we did!" Kiyomi smiles. "It was so awesome you should have seen it." She looks to a tall man with light brown hair and glasses. "Hayashi-Senpai used her Chie-Zone and Fujita-Senpai says it's like your move, Tezuka-Zone. Oh my gosh that's such a cool move! I so want to see the real version of it! It has to be amazing!"

"Aa." Tezuka folds his arms tightly over his chest before looking back to the match. Tezuka reminds me of Sanada already.

"Nya!" Someone yells into my ear before arms are wrapped around my neck. "Are you a friend of Kiyomi-Chan's?"

"Aa, I'm Kokawa Amaya." I greet everyone quietly.

Names are thrown around but none of them really stick besides Kikumaru Eiji, the redhead wrapped around my neck. Now I know who Imai likes and I can tell her I approve. Kiyomi hangs with them and I do too for some time before I see bright Rikkai yellow stalking by.

"Kiyomi." I nudge my partner and we watch the boys stalk by looking proud, they won their match. Sanada looks over, but doesn't notice me behind Eiji and some brunette named Fuji, instead his eyes lock onto Tezuka's and they glare at each other. That reminds me. "It was nice meeting all of you." I give a little bow, "I'll talk to you later Kikumaru-Kun."

"Call me Eiji, nya."

Everyone says goodbye and I race off to Sanada's side. Marui's boasting about how "genius" he was in his match. Niou mutters something about a fatass but I ignored them. "Sanada-San, can I talk to you?"

"Oooh." Marui, Kirihara, and Niou all say together.

"Tarundoru!" Sanada yells at all of them before I take his hand and pull him off to some bench. "I-is something the matter Kokawa?" His hand brushes my cheek and it stings instantly but I push it away.

"That girl from Yamabuki… she knew you… she called you G-… Genichiro. How do you two know each other? I… I mean I don't want to seem that I'm jealous cuz I'm not I'm just curious. You know me, you know how curious I am." I explain lamely as I stare at my hands, intertwining my fingers together.

"Aa. I know." Sanada's voice is so soothing. "She and I used to go to the same babysitter as children and our parents have kept in touch since then… she comes over occasionally with her parents. I don't like her, especially now. She's always been rude and uncaring." Sanada brushes my cheek again. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Aa, of course."

We share a moment of silence. Sanada's hand brushes against my cheek, it's sticky and sweaty but it's still warm. His hand curls around the back of my neck, I cringe internally knowing my neck is probably incredibly sweaty and gross, still he keeps his hand there. We watch each other for a minute, his eyes are a really pretty shade of brown, they reveal so much about him. He leans forward, every so slightly, his eyes start to flicker between mine. My heart hammers inside my chest as I tilt my head up. Sanada steps closer, the warmth of his body seeping into mine. He's going to kiss me. Oh my God. And I'm a complete mess! Oh dear, oh dear, oh-

"Kiss her already!" Niou shouts.

Sanada and I both jump, our foreheads smash into each other. We groan loudly and clutch our foreheads. Sanada's hat falls off and he yells, "NIOU MASAHARU!" Said boy ran off fearing Sanada's wrath. Sanada blushes the color of my hair and stalks off. I know I'm blushing too as I rub my forehead and trail after him. Will we ever get our first kiss?

.-.

Music pounds through a small sushi bar we've reserved for the night. Kiyomi's dancing beside me from her seat. We're all laughing and giggling and celebrating our win on the semi-finals. Next is finals. We'll be facing Yamabuki and the boys are going to face Shitenhoji. Until then we're riding this high. Kiyomi and I are over our lose but Jackal says he's going to help us work on our strength next week. We can make it.

"Dance with me!" Kiyomi shrieks, grabs my hand and drags me to a little area clear of shoes, bags, and people. We dance to the upbeat music the only way we know how; shaking and shimmying and dropping it like it's hot. I can't stop myself from laughing as we dance like only best friends can dance together. We might as well be drunk as we grind together. Next thing I know is Tsukiko and Imai are dancing with us, we all bounce and shake together. We're so close together and nobody says anything about the smell of sweat that's followed us around.

Niou struts up and Kiyomi and he start dancing together, nobody cares as we all start to grind against the sole boy who dared dance with us. Before I know what's going on Marui, Jackal, and Kirihara have joined us. We're all laughing and dancing and nobody seems to care who they're dancing against so long as they're dancing. Kirihara and I dance circles around each other our bodies pressed together. Tsukiko and Jackal aren't really dancing so much as grinding.

"Ew! Get a room!" Imai teases but they don't seem to hear over the music.

I wrap my arms around Kirihara and hug him close. Part of me wishes I was dancing with Sanada but I like dancing with Kirihara and I know Sanada would have a heart attack if we danced together. Hands grab my shoulders gently and a clipped voice is in my ear that can only belong to Yagyuu. "May I have this dance?"

"Sure." I give Kirihara one last squeeze before I turn to Yagyuu. He's a good dancer surprisingly and he still manages to maintain his gentlemanly-ness as we dance together. He moves and I move and we find a perfect sync. He makes me want to learn a dance instead of just blindly moving to the music. Yagyuu seems so planned and choreographed. Hmm, that gives me an idea. I'm going to make a dance club once the tennis season dulls down.

The song changes and Madoka and Chie join us in dancing. I've never had more fun dancing with anyone before. We're all smiles and laughs. Too soon Buchou ends our fun and we all have to go home before it gets too dark. Sanada, Yanagi and myself wait to catch a bus. My knees are sore from dancing and playing tennis so I chose to sit on the edge of the bench beside some teenaged boy while Sanada stands close by.

"Hey, can we go jog tomorrow morning?" I ask, "We haven't for a while." And I want Denny's for breakfast.

"Aa." Sanada nods his head.

"Sweet." I say just as the bus arrives. We all pile on, Sanada and Yanagi let me have the empty seat while they stand above me. Sanada's bare leg pressed to mine, his leg hairs prick against mine but I don't really mind. It's kind of reassuring to know Sanada's so close. I stare up at him but he's looking out beyond me. His brown eyes dart from the objects passing by. The bus jolts and his muscles clench to keep him steady. He only looks down at me when I sigh.

"Are you ok?" He touches my bruised cheek before touching my forehead.

"Totally." I tell him.

He nods his head and looks back out the window as the bus rolls by. Yanagi watches us silently, it's rather creepy to know Yanagi is always watching you… observing how you move and react. He smiles at me when I look at him and I smile back. Yanagi will always be there for me too.

.-.

"_So here I write my lullaby, to all the lonely ones. Remember as you learn to try to be the one you love. So I can take this pen and teach you how to live, but remember what is left unsaid, the greatest gift I gave._" My phone's singing far too early in the morning for me. Ugh, I'm going for a jog, right…

After I change and leave a note for Josh or Mom to find I tie up my sneakers and head outside. It's a little hot out but I don't mind as I start to jog down the road to meet up with Sanada and then Yanagi. The three of us jog in complete silence, we run fast and a lot longer than we ever used to. Guess we haven't really jogged since we got back from camp. It feels nice to get my heart pumping so early in the morning before the sun is really baking me from the inside.

We stop at our diner for breakfast and I pay once my stomach is packed full of sweet pancakes and fluffy eggs. My body sluggishly saunters home content with my morning exercise, now I can spend the day working on my guitar and doing homework. Maybe I can talk Josh into playing tennis with me. I say goodbye to Yanagi when we pass his house and when I pass Sanada's house he grabs my wrist to stop me. "C-can I come over today? My mom's cleaning and I don't like the smell of bleach."

"Sure." I shrug and we head to my house together. Sanada's only been to my house a few times because my house is so empty and awkward with Josh around, and Sanada's parents love me. I open the door and kick off my smelly sneakers before I take Sanada up to my room. He settles on my bed and I take out all my homework.

"You should have done that before our tournament." Sanada chides.

I shrug, "Oh well." He clicks on my TV and searches through the shows as I set to work making sense of math. I grunt at a particularly hard math problem that's already taken up a quarter of the page. "Math takes forever."

"You should have done it earlier Kokawa."

"Whatever." I growl at him.

"You guys are still using last names?" Josh asks from the doorway.

"Josh!" I shriek and throw my eraser at him. "Get out of my room!"

"Don't do anything naughty!" Josh ducks before the eraser hits him but isn't fast enough to dodge my pencil. He frowns and throws both back to me before running off.

"Stupid Josh." I growl erasing madly at a few rows of numbers because I can.

"Aa." Sanada agrees. I go back to my math homework until I can't take it anymore and go to geography homework. "K-Kokawa."

"Aa?"

"C-can we call each other by our given names?" He murmurs, "I-I mean if you want to."

"Aa… G-Genichiro." I blush and look away, why is it so awkward to call him by his given name? Maybe because we're finally getting closer to each other.

"Aa." Sanada doesn't call me Amaya and I figure he won't for a while. Sanada's so formal sometimes. Either way I'm content knowing I can call Sanada by his first name if I chose and not have it be awkward.

.-.

A/N: First off I posted a little side story the other day, Chaotic Life of a Teenager, just so you know. Secondly, Sanada and Kokawa are so cute, I try to keep them in character but it's hard to figure out how Sanada would act so he's just a flustered Mewmewlover23; I don't really play tennis… I'm a miserable player. I like the sound the ball makes when it hits the racket the best everyone else: Thank you so much for all the loving comments. Honestly without the reviews I'd probably give up writing this story. I promise there will be a plot in this story eventually!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

"Gen-_Chan_!" I whine obnoxiously. Sanada's eyebrow twitches but he refuses to look at me even with me tugging on his sleeve and acting like a child. "Gen-Chan! _Please_!" I beg. Sanada refuses to buy me a fluffy Pillow Pet even after I explain to him that all my friends have one and they're going to have a Pillow Pet Party tomorrow after Finals and I can't go because I don't have one! "_Please_!" I hold up a Kangaroo Pillow Pet in front of his face and make the saddest puppy dog eyes ever.

"Why don't you buy it yourself?" Sanada asks.

"_Because_! Everyone else got their's as a gift… and I'd feel stupid if I bought one myself so I wasn't alone. _Please_?"

Sanada huffs and looks at me, then the Kangaroo and then to the mass of Pillow Pets beside me. He sorts through the masses of fluffy pets but nods his head at my Kangaroo. I squeal and prance up to the counter with him only letting go of the pet so the cashier can ring it in.

"I'm gonna name her Kanga! And the joey Roo!" I tell Sanada as we exit the shop. "Oh thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" I hug Sanada tightly.

"You're original." Sanada huffs.

"Kanga and Roo are from Winnie the Pooh! Winnie the Pooh! Winnie the Pooh! Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff!" I start singing in the middle of the mall.

Sanada rolls his eyes.

"Can we watch Winnie the Pooh when we get home?" I ask.

"No."

I pout, "You're a party pooper."

Sanada says nothing as we walk through the mall hand in hand. It's Friday afternoon and we have today off to rest. Sanada invited me to the mall so we could hang out together. We wander around for sometime, he lets me drag him into random stores and allows me to chatter about anything and everything. Thankfully Sanada doesn't seem to mind as he squeezes my hand comfortingly. After a few hours at the mall we head to the nearest park. It's hot outside and I'm glad I wore shorts and a tank top today. We settle on the swings together, Sanada holding Kanga while I swing higher and higher enjoying the breeze I create.

"A-Amaya." Sanada says softly.

"Hmm?" I ask slowing down.

"I was accepted to Rikkai University today." I leap off the swing and launch myself at Sanada, nearly knocking us both off the swing.

"Congratulations Genichiro! That's wonderful news!" Sanada wraps an arm around my waist to keep my planted on his lap as I hug him around the neck. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you." Sanada says gently in my ear before he leans back and we stare at each other. He tilts his head and I move mine in the opposite side. Sanada leans forward and my heart hammers hard against my chest, Sanada's heart pounds against my chest too, we're both nervous. He stops just before our lips meet, our eyes searching each other. I take a breath and lean forward. Our lips brush and my heart goes _pitter-pat_ as we hold our lips together. Sanada's almost frozen against me as I pull back.

We look down at each other and I bite my lip before sliding off his lap. He's blushing just as hard as I am but inside I'm screaming and prancing around. We kissed! We kissed! Oh his lips were surprisingly soft and full against mine and they were just as warm as I always expected them to be.

As I start to swing again I think. I was the one who kissed him. I was the one who called him by his first name first. I was the one who screamed some sense into him until he'd ask me out. Why am I the one doing all this? I always pictured my first boyfriend would be the one who kissed me instead of me kissing them. Almost like Kirihara's kiss… only then I wasn't really sure I liked him.

When I sigh Sanada looks over at me, I shrug my shoulders and swing a little higher. My thighs are sticking to the swing seat but I don't care. I swing higher and higher until for a split second gravity has no control over me and I'm free. Back and forth, back and forth, _squeaky-squeaky_. Sanada digs his toe into a pile of dirt beside me.

"We'll win Nationals right?" I ask.

"Do you doubt your team?" Sanada asks back.

I shake my head but I'm not sure if he catches it. I've spent all week practicing with Kiyomi. We played against Jackal or Sanada or against a ball machine and when we couldn't do any of that we would run and stretch and train our muscles. My arms and legs have been aching all week from the moment I get up to the moment I go to sleep, it's not uncomfortable it actually is nice and reminds me I've worked hard to have a stronger body. Kiyomi and I are sure we'll do good.

"It's getting late, let's go home K- Amaya."

I jump from the swing and Sanada takes my hand, leading me to a bus stop. Neither of us talk about the kiss but I didn't exactly expect Sanada to. With my free arm wrapped around Kanga stuffing her into my face I glance up at Sanada. His back is straight as a pole, glaring straight ahead under his black cap, yet he holds hands with me. Our fingers are sticky from the heat but I could care less about that, I'm just happy that Sanada finally can hold my hand on his own without feeling too awkward. Oh how I wish he was more assertive like he is in tennis.

Sanada's brown eyes narrow down at me. Did I say that out loud? My face heats up and I hide my face into Kanga's back embarrassed. A deep chuckle tells me I'm amusing Sanada, I'm glad my embarrassment is funny to people. Sanada's hand squeezes mine, he has thicker fingers and they're calloused from years of tennis, they're real man hands. I've held hands with Yukimura before and his hands were so delicate and soft I thought I was holding hands with another girl for a while.

"You're hands are always so warm." I state.

"Aa… thanks…?"

Just as I start to giggle the bus arrives. It's crammed full of people and only a few get off at this stop. We climb onto the bus and I find us two empty seats in the back. When Sanada sits he's so close that our legs stick together in the constant heat. A/C blows down at me but it does nothing to cool the constant fire under my skin, tomorrow is going to kill me, it's supposed to be really hot and I'm just going to melt and collapse. My fingers dig into Sanada's arm as nerves take over. Sanada says nothing, no words of encouragement, not telling me to stop clawing his arm off, nothing. Sanada pushes a button for our stop and we peel ourselves from the seat and head off the bus with a few other people.

At my doorstep Sanada stares down at me. He looks like he's trying to figure something out. Like a good girl I wait and watch as he leans closer to my face, then at the last second he presses his lips to my forehead and runs off. "Goodnight Amaya, see you tomorrow!" He calls back. My smile won't leave my face as I ruffle my sweaty hair and touch my forehead and then my lips. There wasn't any fireworks or stars or anything when we kissed, just warmth and pressure. It did feel nice though. The rest of the evening I keep touching my lips, Josh gives me odd looks but says nothing.

At dinner I tap my chopsticks to my lips one too many times and Mom scolds me. "Just eat sweetheart." She tells me, then, minutes later she continues, "Is your tennis tournament tomorrow?" Butterflies erupt in my stomach and I merely nod my head. I gobble down the last of my food and escape to my bedroom. For the next hour I practice my swings in the wide open spaces of my room, backhand, forehand, backhand, forehand. My muscles move flawlessly under my skin and I watch my form in the mirror. It seems good enough but I know its not. There's got to be some flaw. Something I can't see about myself so I keep swinging and swinging until I've worked up a sweat.

Face first I fall into my bed and lay there trying to sleep. Tomorrow is the day… tomorrow… tomorrow…

.-.

"_We smell victory! We smell victory!_" Some stupid rap song that Kiyomi found and sent to me rings in the morning. Still, it wakes me up and I head into the bathroom to start my day.

Mom's cooing over me when I head downstairs in my uniform with my tennis bag slung over my shoulder. Sanada stands awkwardly at the entrance no doubt because Mom noticed him and demanded he come inside. "Oh, you look so cute! Good luck today sweetie! If I can come I will, I promise!" I don't expect her to be there, I never have. So I brush her off and Sanada and I leave together.

"Sorry about that." I murmur.

"Aa." Sanada grabs my hand and I squeeze it hard. "Don't be nervous. You'll do fine. Don't slack off." Despite his words butterflies flutter like a tornado inside my stomach almost causing me to puke. My fingernails dig into Sanada's hand and he hisses once but doesn't say anything. Finals. Finals. Finals. I'm glad finals are being held here in Kanagawa this year instead of somewhere else, I'd be a wreck on the train.

"W-where's Yanagi-Senpai?" I murmur trying to get my mind off everything.

"He left early." Sanada states.

"Oh."

We walk in silence with my fingers digging deep into Sanada's hand. I swear I'm going to draw blood soon. When we walk by a fast food place the sharp smell of grease and fat make me gag and nearly lose the small breakfast I had before I ran out the door. Breath. It'll be ok. You're practiced for so long for this. You can do it.

Finals are in a giant stadium. It's impressive when we walk through the halls, our footsteps echoing. I gape around and wonder if a lot of people are going to be here, that thought makes my stomach twist and I fight the urge to puke. Stupid nerves. We walk to a set of locker rooms, boy's game is first, starting in forty minutes. My games don't start for another two hours if the boys finish their matches.

"Good luck." I murmur letting go of Sanada's hand slowly.

"Aa." There's a pause before Sanada speaks, "W-would you like… to help me warm up when it becomes time?" He asks slowly.

My eyes widen, me? Help him warm up? "I'm not that good a player." I tell him.

He shakes his head. "Will you?"

"Ah… aa, sure." I eventually nod.

He nods back and twists the power weights on his wrist awkwardly. Those stupid things have become a part of our lives. I took mine off the other day because my wrist was itchy and the skin was really pale and gross. Subconsciously I twist my own wrist weights, my fingers brush against the two black hair elastics I keep around my wrist at all times. I gasp and take one off. "Here." I hold out the elastic to Sanada who'd just been standing there watching me. "Wear this on your wrist too, ok?" I slide the elastic over his hand, it fits snuggly around his wrist and he stares at me. I smile sweetly as he pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. It makes my stomach flutter in a good way.

.-.

There's so much noise in the stadium once it's time for the game to start. I've never heard a crowd be so loud before, yet I scream my lungs out along with everyone else. This is it. The big match between Rikkai and Shitenhoji! Both teams look tough, even if Shitenhoji is a little bit comical with their gay couple and the redhead that keeps bounding around.

Singles Three is first. Kirihara versus Shitenhoji's captain Shiraishi. Kiyomi and I comment on how attractive Shiraishi is. The match is actually pretty, Shiraishi doesn't move a whole lot, his follow-through's are perfect and his footwork could challenge a ballerina's. The whole scene just pisses Kirihara off and my best friend turns into a white haired, red-eyed demon. Panic overwhelms me as Kirihara aims for body shots and laughs maniacally.

"He'll be fine." Chie tells me. Which one?

The game is over before it starts. 7-5 to Shiraishi. Kirihara drops onto the court and Shiraishi limps away, touching his knee where Kirihara slammed a shot into him. As disappointed as I am that Kirihara didn't win I feel sorry for Shiraishi. My new goal is to teach Kirihara how to control that anger.

Doubles two is Marui-Jackal and the gay couple who keep clinging to each other and cooing sweet nothings. How annoying. Marui gets caught up in their stupid tricks and for a while it seems like we'll lose. Just after the fourth game is lost Jackal tells Marui off, probably insulting his genius, and the game turns right around. No longer is Marui bothered by the stupid masks Shitenhoji wears, or how they dance around each other like flamingos. The game goes to us 2-6. Yes! I cheer loudly as Marui and Jackal walk off the stage drenched in sweat.

So far the games have been pretty quick. Lasting no more than 20 minutes each. When you're the best the games are easy to win, right? There's a quick break and Sanada walks up to me and nods his head. We leave together and find a small court not far from the stadium. He takes a ball from his pocket and we, almost lazily, bounce it back and forth. I aim for the corners so he can warm up a little bit better but I feel as though I didn't accomplish much. Sanada's breathing is just as normal as can be when we head back to the stadium. Not a single word was passes between the two of us as I helped him warm up but I can't help feeling that it was supposed to be that way. His eyes didn't look my way any longer than necessary, he's completely focused on winning this game.

Singles Two. Sanada versus some giant hulking man. I cheer as loudly as I can from my seat beside Kiyomi. "You can do it Sanada!" I yell. Sanada's ignoring everyone as he gets ready for his first serve. As the first game starts I realize this is the first I've ever seen Sanada play a real serious match before. He's so focused and determined it's really admirable, he's so fast and strong, all these years of playing tennis are showing off. It's now that I realize how much tennis means to Sanada, how he'll do anything for his team's win. The dedication inside him burns through like alcohol on an open wound. The more the match plays the more thankful I am I'm a girl. This hulking man, Gin I think, is so strong his shots physically push Sanada back. My Sanada's like a mountain and refuses to give in. They play back and forth, Gin using incredible strength and Sanada using incredible speed, until it's at a tie break. 7-6. Sanda in the lead. I dig my fingers into the bench so hard I think I cracked a nail but I don't care. Sanada has to win! He can do it. Both boys are panting hard. Sanada's wrist, as small a movement as it is, is shaking, he can't keep this match up much longer.

Gin goes all out at the next shot, screaming something about 108 and Hadoukyuu. The ball rockets from his racket and looks like a giant yellow fireball shooting across the court. If this wasn't such a serious match I'd be having Dragon Ball flashbacks. Sanada moves to return the shot, he's determined to hit this shot. That's crazy! Stop Sanada! The team can win without you destroying your wrist! With both hands wrapped around his racket he swings hard. The sound of the impact is indescribable, Sanada struggles for a moment before the ball zooms over the net and in! Sanada won!

"Yes!" I jump to my feet only to lose feeling when my boyfriend drops his racket and clutches his wrist in pain. In a second I'm down by the edge of the court, wedged between Niou and Yagyuu. "Is he alright?" I watch helpless as he picks up his racket with his left hand and starts to walk over to Yukimura who's been sitting on the bench working as coach. My nails dig into Niou's arm as Yanagi goes to Sanada with a first aid kit.

"He's no doubt broken his wrist." Yagyuu says solemnly.

"What? No! Genichiro can't break his wrist." I shake my head and hide in Niou's arm. Hanging onto Niou doesn't feel right, he's thinner and he doesn't smell like Sanada does. There's a short break as Yanagi fixes Sanada's wrist. Sanada's eyes narrow at his wrist but he says nothing.

"Sanada-Fukubuchou will do anything to win." Niou says to me. "Even if it means putting himself in harms way. He wants all of us to win." Why are you such a numb-skull Sanada? To injure yourself when the win is already yours?

Finally Sanada walks up to where the whole team has been standing and thrusts his left fist into the air. We all erupt in cheers before everyone runs to his side to make sure he's ok and congratulate him on the win. I hang back, though he's my boyfriend this is the team's win, not mine. Instead I watch the Doubles Two players walk out. Two tall boys, one with blond hair and the other with black hair saunter out. There's a pause before Niou and Yagyuu walk out to meet them. A strong hand grabs mine and I glance to find Sanada.

"Congratulations." I tell him with a smile.

"Aa." He gives my hand a squeeze.

"Is your wrist ok?"

"It'll be fine. It's nothing so long as we win." He doesn't look at me, instead he narrows his eyes at Niou and Yagyuu. Then, he drops his gaze, drops my hand, and goes off to talk to Yanagi. He's still in tennis mode. Good enough for me. I head back to Kiyomi who instantly comments about the attractiveness of these two Shitenhoji boys. The match, though, isn't very impressive, they do have a great combination but it's nothing for Niou and Yagyuu. I'm sure after two points Niou picked out all their habits and together they dominate the game. The first easy win of the match. 1-6. We're winning, we're going to win, they can do this. Sanada's broken wrist will not be in vain! Especially since it's Singles One now.

Yukimura steps out onto the court with his tennis jacket draped over his shoulders. He's got a cold, serious aura about him, it's actually intimidating, no wonder everyone respects Yukimura without question. The redheaded kid, almost half Yukimura's height, bounds out onto the court oblivious to the aura he's surrounded by. The game starts and it's intense, the kid bounds around too much and likes hitting wild and outlandish shots. Yukimura dominates though, easily controlling the kid's movements.

"Yips." Tsukiko says beside me.

"Huh?" Kiyomi and I ask together.

"Yips." She nods her head to the court where the redhead is almost lifeless, looking around without seeing anything. "Yukimura takes away your senses until you have nothing left." I shudder, sounds terrifying. With that, the game is easily won 0-6. With that, Nationals is theirs for the taking. My ears began to bleed when everyone started screaming and cheering. I join in and cheer at the top of my lungs until I'm sure my voice will give out.

.-.

A/N: Finally the first kiss! (and I am the left out one of my group… I have no Pillow Pet or Gen-Chan to buy me one). This chapter is a little longer than all my others because it's really hard for me to find a place to stop in the middle of a tournament. So enjoy, also I know I didn't go into much detail -_-; I promise I'll write more boy's tennis scenes because I realized they're severely lacking. -end A/N-


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

After the crowd dies down there's a short break, the award ceremony will take place after the girl's game. Butterflies rise in my stomach again as Kiyomi and I go to warm up together. We go to the same court Sanada and I went to just moments ago. It's quiet, a few people mill about getting snacks and drinks.

"Game plan?" Kiyomi asks as I hit a ball towards her.

"Same as always." I tell her with a shrug of my left shoulder. Left shoulder means we hang back and let me figure out their habits and we'll go from there. Right shoulder means figure it out as we go, don't hold back. Kiyomi nods her head. After a minute of volleying we head back, my muscles feel ready but my stomach isn't. This is it.

"Singles Three to the courts." An announcer says. Tsukiko swings her racket over her shoulder and heads down to the court. Yamabuki. Perfect. Tsukiko's playing against the pigtails girl. The game is quick. Tsukiko is fast and powerful. 6-1. Pigtails stood no chance. I laugh internally before Kiyomi and I head onto the courts. People are cheering and it's making my stomach twist.

"Rough or smooth." That voice. It's the girl with neon red hair. The girl that knows Sanada. The girl that punched me in the face. My eyes narrow and without thinking I say "Rough." The racket spins round and round before it clatters to the ground. Any noise of the crowd is lost as I glare down the girls, the other girl I don't know, though she's probably the most feminine looking of them all with black hair in a high pony tail.

"Rough." The girl spits out.

"We want the serve." I say as I hand Kiyomi a ball. Perfect. Kiyomi can serve and I can observe. I crouch low at the net and watch. My eyes search for anything. _Pock_. The yellow ball flies beside me and I watch closely. One tell. Redhead, Shig I think her name is, dips her left shoulder when she hits a cross shot. Next point I find a habit, black haired girl, Shizuka, twists her wrist in the direction she's going to move. Kiyomi does well keeping up a long volley for me. I jump in just at the right second and land us our points. Shig is strong, manly strong, she could rival Jackal, and Shizuka is really good at net play. We win the first game and I head back to talk to Kiyomi.

I still need more time to find more tells but I have enough information for right now. "Keep Shizuka back away from the net as much as possible. We can handle Shig's power, it's like fighting Jackal." Kiyomi nods and our game continues.

The ball zips back and forth as Kiyomi and I attempt to keep both Shig and Shizuka back at the baseline. They're strong, but I can finally feel how strong our muscles have gotten. 40-30. Match point. Shizuka bounces the ball twice and I step closer to the corner, the ball zips by Kiyomi and into my racket. Two bounces and she hits close to the corner. Three she hits to the centerline. The ball zooms over the net into Shig's racket who smirks and launches the ball towards my feet. I shuffle and scurry but manage to return it over the net. My knee throbs from the awkward movement but I just run through the pain until Kiyomi gets the last point. Good. 2-0.

"You ok?" Kiyomi murmurs.

I nod and tell her about Shizuka's tell before I roll my knee as inconspicuously as I can. I don't need them knowing about my weakness. Kiyomi nods her head and goes to the net, bending at her knees she's ready for anything. Right. Let's do this. I bounce the ball a few times in my hand before I toss it up, I jump and twist my body and the ball is off like a rocket. I've been watching how Tsukiko serves, how she twists her body into her shots, it feels a little unnatural and my spine snaps with the movement but the speed is perfect.

15-0.

Kiyomi sends me a thumbs up behind her back and moves closer to the center line. I follow in suit. She leans on her left foot then on her right and back again. She's going right. We've formed a new system, odd number of movements she goes right, even number she goes left. It doesn't matter which side she starts on either. We came up with that to keep the opponents guessing for longer. It works, Shizuka goes right in anticipation but Kiyomi is there and gets our next point.

We're in perfect sync today. I rub sweat off my forehead and blink a few times. It's really hot today, the sun is beating down at us, sweat drips down my chin. Focus. I bounce the ball and count Kiyomi's movements, four, left. I toss the ball up and hit it over the net. Like a well trained magic show Kiyomi and I move around each other without using any calls. We use no signals and take the next game easily.

Then something changes, Shig rolls her shoulder and smirks at me. Why is it whenever Kiyomi and I feel like we're winning the opponent pops out with some super power they kept back? Shig's sadistic look sends a shiver up my spine. There's nothing I can do to warn Kiyomi, I can only hope my partner noticed the look too. The ball is fast, Shig's speed doubles, and I'm sent running back and forth across the baseline. My knee throbs with the awkward motion from earlier but I refuse to give in. Kiyomi's helpless and tries to intervene but shots go right over her head or too close for her to hit. She's stuck.

The game is taken too quickly for comfort. I pant as we switch courts. I should be used to this. I should be used to all this running. What's different? Kiyomi taps my shoulder and I glance at her. "Let me take the shots ok? They're running you, making you bend… using all the nasty tricks we like to use." I nod my head and go to the net to glare at Shig. Kiyomi takes the first point easy. Just before Shig and Shizuka switch positions the redhead sends me the nastiest grin I've ever seen before. Under her breath she whispers, "I'm going to make you bleed." My heart thumps inside my chest and I grip my racket tighter, too tight, I need something to squeeze.

The yellow ball zips by me and I almost jump surprised by it. My sense of sound is gone I'm too focused on not getting hurt. Stop that. Sanada just broke his wrist for his team. My fingers brush over the elastic and I throw myself into the next shot adding as much power as I can possibly manage. Shig laughs at me and sends the ball straight for my legs.

"Watch out!" Kiyomi shrieks. I stumble and scramble but it's too late. The ball zips by my leg, burning across my calf. It smarts but it's not the first time I've been caught by a fast ball before. "You ok?" Kiyomi's at my side, touching my shoulder.

"Fine. Fine." I push her away thinking this is what Sanada must have felt, that pure and utter determination to win and dominate. The feeling is overwhelming and adrenaline pumps through my body. I will win. Kiyomi and I will not disappoint our senpais.

In the next match alone Kiyomi and I each get more and more balls aimed at our bodies and feet. The hot, searing pain of a rug burn is everywhere; my calves, my arms, and one nasty one on my cheek. Kiyomi has just as many as I do. We bat wrists and I stare at the black elastic, my silent promise to win. "This pain is nothing." I tell Kiyomi who nods her head. We narrow our eyes at Shizuka who's preparing her serve. Shizuka's speed has increased too but her power is the same. When her balls scrape across my ankle it doesn't hurt as bad. I'm surprised and angry the ref hasn't called them out yet but I say nothing as one particularly fast ball skims my knee. Pain shoots up everywhere but Kiyomi and I aren't going to give in. Shizuka plans to make both of us run as much as possible. Kiyomi's losing steam and so aren't I. We're losing too.

The little yellow ball moves barely out of reach of my racket and I growl we've lost another game, but then, _pock! Thud!_ Kiyomi dove for the ball and hit it up and over the net just barely to get us a point. 40-30. Kiyomi smiles at me and I smile back, we're both sprawled on the courts exhausted with little red welts forming on our body. I stand at the same time she does and then everything is gone.

Cool water laps at my ankles and I look around searching for the tennis courts and a screaming crowd. What the hell? Kiyomi appears next to me, her long hair flowing out around her. "Where are we?" She asks as we search the beach looking for anyone. The smell of salt and seaweed tickle my nose as I inhale.

"I have no clue." I tell her back, when I hold out my hand Kiyomi takes it and we walk down the beach together. The red welts are on our bodies but when a big wave comes up over my calves the welts vanish. We're both wearing white sundresses and our hair flows out behind us in a soft breeze. "Hey Kiyomi?"

"Yea Amaya?"

"I'm glad I met you and got to play tennis with you."

"I'm glad too."

"Can we play tennis together forever?" I ask.

"That's so cliché." Kiyomi giggles under her breath and I join her until we're both rolling around in the water giggling. A wave swells up and over our heads and all the welts on our body vanish. "Magic water." Kiyomi deadpans and I giggle some more before I crawl to my feet and run out across the beach alone. "Wait for me!" Kiyomi yells behind me. I turn to look at her, to laugh at her, when I trip and pain rockets so far up my leg I'm sure I'm dying.

"Kokawa!" Voices all around me are screaming and yelling. The beach is gone. The white sundresses are gone. I smell sweat, burning rubber, and the metallic scent of blood. There's something wet and warm seeping against my leg and I look down and gape. My knee's bright red with oozing blood and beside me is a tennis ball just as red as my knee. Pain shoots through my body and I throw my head back and scream. Kiyomi and Buchou are at my side before I can blink.

"What happened?" Kiyomi asked, her eyes just as wide as the full moon.

"C'mon, help me lift her." Buchou demands, I hear feet slapping against the courts. I can play! I can still play! I try to get my feet under me when Buchou and Kiyomi heft me up, my knee pops, blood leeks out faster, and I can't stop myself from screaming again. My eyes squeeze shut and tears leek out of the corners. Crying is for babies! Stop crying!

"Will she be alright?" Sacrasm drips from that voice. Shig. Shig. Shig did this. Why don't I remember what Shig did? Something cold and stinging rubs against my knee and the smell of alcohol burns through the smell of sweat and blood.

"She can't play." Chie's voice states.

"No!" I croak, "No. K-Kiyomi and I… we… we ha-"

"Stop." Kiyomi's voice says so gently I have to listen, "The team can still win… please don't injure yourself any further."

"Doubles 2 forfeits." Buchou says proudly. I squeeze my eyes shut as pain pulses, whatever happened I couldn't win, I wasn't strong enough. Chie wraps my knee in gauze and then she and Kiyomi heft me off the courts and onto the bleachers where I stretch my leg out in front of me and watch the blood seep. Setsuko's playing now, she looks pointedly at me and nods her head, everything will be alright.

"What happened?" Kiyomi asked as Niou, Kirihara and Sanada all rush to my side, the rest of the team trailing close behind.

"It was so amazing!" Kirihara coos as he grabs my arm in his. "You two hit synchro!"

"Synchro?" We ask together. Pain shoots up my leg and I wince, Sanada's strong hand squeezes my shoulder.

"Synchronization is a technique in which both players become fully synchronized and move as if they were one; breathing as one and knowing exactly what their partner's next move would be." Yanagi informs us. Kiyomi and I look at each other, we both ask the same question, was that when we were by the ocean?

"It was so amazing." Tsukiko says, wrapping her arms around Kiyomi and I. Sweat sticks to me and I just want a shower as Tsukiko knocks her head into mine. "You two were so awesome. Not even Chie and Madoka have hit synchro yet."

"Why not?" Kiyomi asks.

"They argue too much." Imai comes over and sits beside Kiyomi. "They've never allowed their minds to just stop."

"Too bad you had to trip." Kirihara sighs.

"Yea, what happened?" I pointed to my knee that was leaking hot blood down my leg.

"They were exploiting your weakness." Tsukiko says, "They made you run and bend and they kept hitting your knee. The two of you were so strong. But then you tripped and took a digger." No wonder there are red welts on my legs.

"It was a good match." Sanada murmurs into my ear.

From then on out I blocked out conversation and watch Setsuko control the game with her skills. She moves fluidly around the court and uses her opponents power, one of the girls from before, against her. The ball keeps slamming into Setsuko's racket but somehow her little arms manage to fling the ball back over the net. She'll win. Setsuko is determined and not someone to mess with.

"Let's go Setsuko!" I shriek suddenly. Setsuko hasn't broken much of a sweat when they change courts, she yanks back her hair into a ponytail and looks even more determined to win. Someone in the crowd starts to chant and the noise fills my ears.

"Amaya!" A familiar voice shrieks, "Amaya what's wrong!" Mom? What the-? My mother hugs me tightly and jerks away, "Dear you're covered in sweat! And what happened?" She points to my knee, "Are you alright?"

"Fine." I brush her off focusing more on Setsuko's game where she controls the pace with ease despite how strong the other girl is.

"We should get you to a hospital!"

"I'm fine." I slide closer to Kiyomi, the movement sends pain shooting up my spine. The blood leaking down my leg has finally reached my sock and is starting to get soaked up.

"Amaya, I'm taking you to the hospital right now."

"No." I say solidly, "Mom I'm fine! We're at Nationals right now and my team needs me. Go home." I narrow my eyes at her, not like she ever came to my games before, ever saw me play or practice. No. She has no right to come and try and take me away from my life.

Mom's eyes well up and I almost cave and go with her but I don't, I just pout and glare. She sighs and stands, "A-ah, alright… call me when you're done here… I can give you a ride."

I shake my head, "Thanks, but we're going out for food tonight, the boy's won."

"Ok." Mom stands and looks sad before she walks off. There's an awkward silence as everyone watches Setsuko win the last game with ease. 6-2.

"Sorry guys." I mumble.

"It's ok." Kiyomi squeezes my hand. It's not, the bright red DEF letters shine through like a beacon telling me I failed, when everything mattered the most I lost. I brought Kiyomi and my team down… and even with Setsuko's and Tsukiko's win we still might not take Nationals and it's all my fault.

Doubles 1 starts up. Madoka and Chie chatter as they head out onto the court to greet their opponents. I feel ready to cry so I push myself up and, fighting through my pain, I make my way through the crowds.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

There's a small tree not far from the stadium that I curl under alone. My knee aches and my socks are turning red from the blood. I just want to be alone right now and wallow in my pain. I know I should be watching Chie and Madoka, cheering them on, but I just can't do it. What a child I am.

"Amaya."

"Go away Genichirou." I mumble drawing my knees, blood and all, to my chest.

"Your team needs you." Sanada grunts, "Go back inside, just because you lost your match doesn't mean you've lost the whole tournament." Tough love huh?

"I know." I glance up at Sanada, "I wish I were more like you. You're strong, confident, and determined."

"And you're not?"

"Clearly." I set my chin on my knee. "I lost the match because I'm weak."

Sanada grunts. "Get up Amaya, let's go cheer your team on." Sanada holds down his hand and I take it, "We can talk later." My boyfriend yanks me to my feet with ease and holds me close to him before he kisses my forehead gently, "Are you sure you're ok?" He murmurs into my hair.

"I should be asking you that." I look up at him but he shrugs and we both glance to his wrist wrapped in gauze and an icepack and then to my knee wrapped in gauze but bloody and bleeding. I giggle, "We're both wounded, huh?"

"Aa." Sanada takes my hand and helps me back to the stadium. My knee burns like a bitch but I'm not going to stop walking. Every tenth step my knee shudders and gives out and I claw at Sanada to regain my balance. Every time I stumble he mumbles sweet things to me, "You did wonderfully", "You're strong", "You're amazing." It seems so unusual but it makes me feel lighter and forget about the pain. We arrive at the tail end of the game, 3-5, Madoka sweats a little but she still dances around as her sister serves a fast serve.

Yanagi changes the gauze on my leg when I settle down, I have to hide my face in Sanada's shoulder as the blood streams down my leg. "You'll need to go to the hospital after this." Yanagi says. I'm glad he's not saying I need to go right now like my mother did. He wraps my knee so tight I can feel my heartbeat in it. "You need to elevate you leg, it will help stop some of the bleeding. One girl on the court lets out a scream and I watch the match as Yagyuu brings over his and Niou's tennis bag to prop onto the bench beside me.

"Thanks Yagyuu." I turn, relaxing back into Sanada's arm and kicking my leg up and on top of the yellow tennis bag. Yagyuu smiles back. The heart thumping pain dulls away as less blood gets to my knee. Chie serves the last serve, it zooms across the net just like that the game is over. Final score 3-6. I cheer and toss a fist into the air. We won Nationals even if Buchou loses her match. I let out a loud shriek when Buchou heads out onto the court.

Kiyomi hops up behind me and we grin at each other. I still remember that beach we were at. Synchro is a cool place. Buchou has an air like Yukimura mixed with Sanada, she's oozes power, domination, and strength. It sends a shudder down my spine. Buchou's first game. This is going to be good. My leg twitches and pain explodes causing me to wince. The girl that walks out has bright orange hair and a large grin on her face.

"Senpai," Kirihara asks, settling beside Kiyomi, "is that girl related to Sengoku from Yamabuki?"

"Yes." Yanagi folds his arms and stares down at the courts, "That's Sengoki Kiyoko, she's known as the Unlucky Sengoku."

"Pfft, how lame." Kirihara says.

"You'll see why." Yanagi says cryptically. Why would anyone want to get the nickname of being unlucky? I assume this means the Sengoku Kirihara knew is lucky. But from the first second I understand the reason, Buchou twirled her racket. Sengoku called out, "Smooth!" in a second. The racket started to fall towards the racket and it was going to fall smooth but it caught on the net and flipped. "Rough." Buchou bends and picks her racket up. Sengoku pouts but heads back to the baseline, her short hair bounces when she walks and she is definitely a pretty girl.

Buchou bounces the ball a few times before she tosses it high into the air. The racket and ball collide and Buchou let's out a loud grunt as the ball zooms over the net. Sengoku didn't even move, when the ball bounced by her she blinked and started laughing, "Whoops, that's a fast serve." Buchou ignores the ginger and tosses another ball high into the air, the ball was over the net before I could blink. Buchou is so fast. Sengoku is prepared and the match starts up. Both are fast and powerful, Buchou goes from the baseline to the net before I can blink. Suddenly Sengoku trips and the ball bounces out.

The rest of the game continues like this, Sengoku is at Buchou's level she just trips or the ball bounces irregularly or the wind changes, stupid little things. Still she managed to tie with Buchou at 4-4. I'm sweating just watching the two, the sun's at an all time high just before it starts to cool down. Buchou shoulders heave when she takes a long drink of her sports-aid.

"Would Sengoku be winning if she wasn't so unlucky?" Kiyomi asks.

"Aa." Yanagi nods his head, "Her misfortunes are her weakness, as stamina is for Marui. If she wasn't so unlucky she would no doubt be at a professional level."

"What about Buchou?" I ask.

"Buchou is at a pro as well." Yanagi nods his head.

"So… Kichida-Senpai has an advantage?" Kirihara asks.

"It appears that." Yanagi says as Buchou wins the next game on her own and not through Sengoku's screw up.

"Ah! Lucky~" A smooth voice says from behind us. Everyone turns, to see a redhead just like Sengoku, the similarities are too close so this must be Lucky Sengoku. "Look at all the ladies!" He peers down at Kiyomi and I and winks, what gorgeous blue eyes.

Sanada growls and puts his arm around my shoulder holding me to his side protectively. The slight movement jolts my leg and I hiss. "Sorry." Sanada whispers. I just nod my head and ignore Sengoku trying to hit on all of us girls. Buchou and Sengoku start another long rally, Sengoku goes to make a drop shot but her wrist had a spasm and tilted her racket to the ball flew into the net instead of over it. Poor girl, yet somehow they've managed to win Nationals before, with Sengoku on the team.

"Game to Kichida, 5-4." The ref calls.

Sengoku twirls her racket around her fingers and smiles, she taps a small chain necklace three times and prepares for the next game.

"Ah, Sis is getting serious now." Sengoku coos from beside Madoka, the only girl who's allowing his cheap flirtations. "Sorry girl's but Kiyoko isn't going down without a fight."

"We've still won Nationals." Madoka glares and Sengoku slinks away.

The ginger was right, his sister did change, she got a little less unlucky. She gave Buchou a run for her money, back and forth their volley lasted for quite some time. The sun beat down on everyone and there was no longer an occasional breeze to screw up Sengoku's shots. But she still wasn't lucky. Sengoku stumbled when the score was 30-15. Then when the score was 40-30, match point, Sengoku moved to set up an awesome drop shot again only to have it land out of bounds. Buchou stood straight up, proudly, and shook hands with Sengoku.

That second Imai, Tsukiko, Kiyomi, and Madoka all sprinted out to the courts to hug Buchou. "Hey!" I shout lamely trying to stand up. Thankfully Chie and Setsuko were nice enough to help me limp into the circle of hot, sweaty bodies. We're all shrieking and bouncing and laughing. Buchou ushers us off the courts and we prepare for the award ceremony, boy's first, Rikkai has lost the excitement of their win but I can tell Kirihara is riding the high of our win. I clap and cheer when my boy's get big gold medals dangling around their chests. Then it's time for the girl's ceremony. My leg burns from standing but the weight of the medal around my neck makes it completely worth it. I'm so happy right now I could probably touch the sky.

"Where are we going to celebrate our double win?" Yukimura asks happily.

"Yakiniku!" Kirihara shouts out first then Marui, myself, and Kiyomi are all chanting "Yakiniku!" with Kirihara.

Nobody disagrees and we prowl the street looking for a good yakiniku place that'll allow a hoard of sweaty, loud teenagers to jam out for an hour or two. We end up finding a nice, quiet place off the main drag of the city. Just as we enter Sanada grabs my arm and pulls me out of the restaurant.

"Genichiro!" I whine, "I want to go eat with my friends!"

"You need to go to the hospital." Sanada says just as a sharp pain blossoms in my knee, I was riding the high for so long I forgot the pain. Now that it was back in full bloom I sulked after Sanada to the nearest hospital. The nurse wraps my leg up nice and tight and gives me a painkiller and instructions to change the bandages every 4 hours until tomorrow and then I can change them every 8 hours. The blood had started to clot anyways, I rolled my ankle before we left and the blood that seeped into my socks crinkled and stuck oddly. Sanada took my hand and lead me back to the yakiniku place everyone was at. Just before we entered Sanada tugged me back and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hey." He says.

"Hm?"

"Why don't you come over tonight for supper?" Sanada murmurs into my ear. His voice makes my toes curl. I nod and hug him tightly. "You did good today Amaya."

"You did too…" I look up and Sanada gives me a small kiss on the lips.

Someone wolf whistles. "Give her a big kiss!"

Sanada glares daggers and chases Niou into the shop with Kirihara and Kiyomi right there. I snicker and shuffle into the store I find a quieter section where Yagyuu sits alone. Sanada's smack resonates over the sound of grilling meet.

"Are you feeling better Kokawa-Kun?" Yagyuu asks.

"Much, I have pain killers in me." I grin and Yagyuu returns it. "Hey, Yagyuu-Kun?"

"Yes?" Yagyuu flips over a piece of pork on the little grill.

"Wanna help me make a dance club? I mean, find a teacher and actually make the club." I shrug.

"That would be fun, what type of dance would we learn?"

"All types! Ballroom, swing, salsa, hip hop!" I envision learning how to actually move and dance for once instead of blindly moving to a rhythm.

"That sounds like fun." "Will you help me? I mean since tennis season is gonna wind down… right?" I actually have no idea, I'm only assuming since there's no more tournaments practice won't be so hard and long anymore.

"Of course, I'd love to help." Yagyuu smiles and passes a strip of pork closer to me just as Sanada arrives and settles beside me. I can't stop myself from wiggling closer to him. The smell of cooking meat and vegetables and sweat and all sorts of other smells combine into something somehow lovely. I breath deeply and watch Sanada drop strips of chicken onto the grill. The three of us cook meat in silence, everyone around is loud, I don't mind not having much conversation, I'm tired and the drugs are making my head spin with the smoke. I drop my head against Sanada's shoulder and chew absently on a piece of pork.

"Tired, Kokawa-Kun?" Yagyuu smiles at me.

"Hmm." I hum back, I used up all my energy today and I could care less about everything else. Sanada shifts his shoulder and grunts and I instantly move, "Sorry! I was leaning on your wrist wasn't I?" I gasp.

"No, it's fine." Sanada says, "You were fine." We stare each other down for a moment before I reach up and yank his hat from his head. I giggle, Sanada has hat hair from wearing it while he sweated. His eyes narrow when I attempt to ruffle up his hair. It helps a little and I set the sweaty hat by my tennis bag and lean on his arm again. Kirihara is shrieking and yelling at Niou, there's giggling all over it's such a pleasing atmosphere. Yagyuu passes me a piece of cooked chicken and I eat it slowly.

Kiyomi yells suddenly and there's the _thump-thump-thump_ as she raced off to the back of the restaurant. Moments later music is filling the room. Am I the only one completely exhausted? Sanada rubs my arm as Yagyuu organizes all the meats grilling. Singing erupts suddenly from all over the place, horrible off-key and as loud as possible. Good thing everyone else left already. It's really amusing to listen to them sing but Jackal attempting to hit a high note makes my body twitch.

"Amaya!" Kiyomi launches herself at me, "Let's sing! Please! Sing!"

"No!" I push her away, "I'm tired and I can't stand."

"Aww you party pooper! Oh tomorrow we're going to Buchou's house and having a Pillow Pet Party."

"Why not tonight?" Yagyuu asks.

"We're all too tired…. And none of us brought our Pillow Pets." Kiyomi giggles, slaps my arm and dances away. I smile and nibble on another strip of meat and text Mom telling her about my supper plans. I'm sure I've depressed her but she said she was going to go work a late shift, probably to run away for a little while.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

After a lot of food we split the bill and everyone heads off in separate directions. Yanagi walks with Sanada and I as we head home. The three of us don't talk, even when I stumble they just hoist me up and help me walk home.

"Goodbye you too." Yanagi says when we reach Sanada's house. We say goodbye back before heading into the traditional home that's Sanada's house. His mother babies me and ends up helping me change the bandages on my knee before she lets Sanada and I go to his room. Sanada removes the wrist brace he's been wearing, his wrist is swollen and looking painful.

"You better put ice on that." I tell him as I clamber my way onto his bed.

"Aa, I'll be right back." Sanada disappeared while I turned on the TV and found the game channel. The musty, spicy scent of Sanada's room is so welcoming, I curl onto Sanada's bed and wonder what it's be like to sleep next to someone, not in a sexual way. The door opens and I sit up until Sanada slides onto the bed beside me. "You can lay back down… if you want." He murmurs, so I do, I set my head against his thigh and watch TV. Cautiously his hand rests on my shoulder but after a minute he starts to rub my shoulder. Glad the A/C has been running or else Sanada's room would be too hot for me.

"I probably smell." I grunt.

"I smell too… so if you don't care I don't care."

"Alright." I snuggle against Sanada's sweaty shorts but I could care less right now. I'm just happy we won Nationals, Kiyomi and I hit synchro too, that's just amazing. Despite how tired I am, and how much I'm in pain, I'm happy.

Sanada taps my shoulder twice after a woman made a poor guess and was kicked off the show and didn't win the large cruise to somewhere or another. I sit up and look at Sanada, he's staring at the TV but I notice the pinkness to his cheek. "You alright?" He nods his head, turns to me, and wraps his arm around my shoulder. He does smell of sweat, but he smells like grilled meat and the scent that's totally Sanada.

The next thing I know his lips are pressed into my hair. When I tilt my head up Sanada starts leaving a trail of kisses down my face. I think he's finally realized he likes kisses and is more confident. Just before he kisses my lips he stop and we watch each other for a second. He breaths and his breath blows across my face, tickling my nose before he twists and leans down to kiss me. Neither of us move for a while, just letting our lips brush each other before Sanada gets more adventurous and starts to move his lips against mine. It feels nice, his lips are soft against mine and I press upwards and crack my lips just a little. Sanada follows a second later and moves closer. Our noses bump and our teeth clack and I pull away giggling.

"Sorry." Sanada murmurs.

"It's fine." I put my arms around him and we kiss again. Before I know it our mouths are open and his tongue is slinking into my mouth hot and slimy. Making out feels weird but I never really thought about what it would be like the feeling of Sanada's tongue on mine is strange but not entirely unpleasant. There's a lot of sloppy, wet sounds as we figure out how to tilt our heads and how far to open our mouths. There's a knock on the door and we both jump, I bite down on mine and Sanada's tongue just before the door opened. I hold back my pain as Haruko peeks into the room.

"Do you want any snacks?"

"No thank you." I tell her since Sanada is blushing incredibly bad. Haruko smiles and leaves the room. The mood is ruined, Sanada's too embarrassed but it was a nice experience to say the least.

"Sorry." Sanada murmurs.

"About what?"

"Everything."

I hug him close and set my cheek on his head, "Don't be. This is a learning experience for both of us." Sanada sighs deeply and puts his arms around me. We sit like that until Haruko calls us for supper. Supper is typical; a traditional meal with Sanada's grandfather asking me a million questions and smiling so nice at me. I'm sure he's trying to set Sanada and I up for marriage, I can picture Genemon being that traditional, arranged marriage, type of guy.

It's pitch dark when Sanada walks me home. "It's getting cooler." I state.

"Aa."

"Practices won't be quite as rigorous."

"Aa."

"That means we can hang out with everyone more right?"

"Aa."

Just like that we're at my home and the conversation stops. We share our good nights and a good night kiss before I head inside. Josh is playing some violent video game; I can hear the sound of guns and bombs and screams. Mom's not home and there's no letters from Dad so I head off to bed to sleep.

.-.

With Nationals over practice gets easier, we no longer practice for hours and hours and even then most of the third years don't show up anymore. Buchou is working on preparing myself, Kiyomi, and Imai for leading the team next year. School is the same, I help Kirihara a lot during lunch keeping all his grades up so we can all go to Rikkai University and win Nationals there too. Yagyuu and I do end up finding a teacher that knew a lot of different dance styles but instead of teaching us she told us to research and teach the class itself. So from there Yagyuu and I end up spending our free evenings at the school learning various dance styles.

It's a Tuesday night and Yagyuu and I were breathing hard after dancing to "Super Bass" for the past hour, learning moves and creating moves. Sweat runs down my spine and I drink my water slowly. "Roshi-Kun, why don't we stat advertising the club now? We know enough styles to be decent… we can do what we did… watch videos and instruct from there."

"Sure, it sounds like fun Kokawa-Chan." Over the last two weeks we've gotten quite close to each other. Yagyuu gathers our things and we head outside at the gate Sanada waits for me, he's been practicing late just so we can walk home together. I say goodbye to Yagyuu who waits at a bus stop.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Sanada asks briskly.

"Aa." I nod my head.

"What about Yagyuu?" He presses a little more.

"Genichiro, are you jealous?" I ask.

"No." He says sharply and I grab his hand and hold it in mine. "Maybe a little."

"Why didn't you just say so?" I tug on his hand. Lately he's been getting more and more distant and I had assumed it was because of this but I had no idea he was honestly jealous. "You can come and learn to dance with us! I'm gonna ask Kiyomi and Tsukiko and Hoshi to come Thursday! You can too."

"I-I… I can't dance." Sanada says.

"That's why we learn." I tell him honestly. "Please? For me?" I bat my eyelashes until Sanada rolls his eyes. "Hey, Mom's been asking about you, why don't you come over for supper tonight?"

"I can't." He shakes his head, "I've promised my mother I'd cook supper tonight."

"Darn."

"You could come over."

"I can't either. I have guitar practice with Josh."

We both sigh, even if Sanada was distant we never did get to see each other much anyways. We were always doing something, and I thought that since tennis practice was over we'd get to hang out a little bit more. I guess I was wrong. Sanada squeezes my hand and when we reach my doorstep he gives me a kiss.

"This weekend we'll hang out I promise." He gives me a big hug and leaves me.

I kick off my shoes inside and sort out my dirty clothes and start a load of laundry. Josh's playing another violent game in the living room and Mom is cooking with a lot of spices. The smell digs into my nose and I run off to my room where the A/C blasts. After a quick shower Josh and I start work on my guitar, it's improved a lot since I first started, I just needed one on one training. Maybe now I can actually start playing in the band at school instead of being the sad reject.

.-.

"_We scream, we shout, we are the fallen angel!_" I'm awake long before my phone starts ringing. I've been thinking about my birthday, it's coming up in a few months and I should be planning now. I want to go home, to the mountains, and bring my friends with me. Daddy should agree. I'll have to ask him later.

Wednesday. Halfway through the week. I pack and get everything ready and say goodbye to Mom before I meet Sanada outside my doorstep. He takes my hand and we wander to school.

"Hey, Genichiro."

"Aa?"

"This is just all hypothetical cuz I just thought of it last night… if I could… would you want to come with me and like the boys and girls regulars to the mountains with me for my birthday?"

"That would be fun."

"Alright. I'm gonna ask my parents tonight." I nod my head sure of myself.

The two of us pass by our small café and Sanada leads me inside, buying me a latte and a tea for himself. Hot drinks in hand we head to school. It's going to be a hot day, my skin is already moist, I can't wait for it to cool down. That's going to be so much fun. At school we say goodbye and I head to the locker room where us girls gather and gossip.

"Aww, your boyfriend buy you that?" Madoka teases me when I sit between her and Kiyomi on a small bench. It smells of sweat and flowery perfume.

"Yes." I murmur taking a small sip of the scalding latte.

"I wish my boyfriend would buy me lattes." Tsukiko pouts.

"I wish I got to _see _my boyfriend more often." Kiyomi and Imai whine together.

"I wish I _had_ a boyfriend!" Madoka whines the loudest.

"You want a boyfriend?" Tsukiko perks up.

Madoka blushes and pretends to work on a sheet of math homework. Tsukiko and Kiyomi start to pester Madoka for who she liked while Imai and I talked boyfriends. She ended up going out with Eiji and now they're happily together, though they don't see each other a lot. When I let slip I made out with Sanada after Nationals everyone and I mean _everyone_ wanted to know all the details. I was doing so good about keeping our (so far) one make out session a secret.

"What was it like?" Madoka asks.

"Is he a good kisser?" Chie pushes up her glasses.

"Did you like it?" Setsuko asks quietly.

"Did he get embarrassed?" Buchou asks

My friends asked more embarrassing questions.

"Did he use tongue?" Tsukiko asks.

"I hope he didn't slobber all over you." Imai says.

"Has he felt you up yet?" Kiyomi asks loudest of all and I flush bright red under their questions.

"I don't know!" I yell, "And no he hasn't felt me up!" I grab my bag and run away. Mentioning that was a horrid idea. I wonder how Sanada will fair because I doubt my friends will be able to keep their mouths shut. Just as I turn a corner I ram hard into something.

"What ya running from Ladybug?" Niou grabs my shoulders and holds me still.

The movement jarred my leg, which, has healed quite nicely except for a random twinge, like now. The pain comes back full force and I whimper leaning into Niou's shoulder. He smells like ginger, I noticed it once just before Sanada and I started dating. It's an interesting smell for Niou but it somehow works.

"Sorry Ladybug." Niou pats my shoulder and holds me at arms length. "So what ya runnin' from?" He loops his arm around my shoulders and helps me limp off to school.

"Ah, my friends." I say sheepishly.

"They know something that the whole school is bound to know before the end of the day and it's going to embarrass either you or Sanada or both of you?" Niou says quickly.

"Ahh, yea…" I admit.

"Can you tell me?"

"Sanada and I made out the night of Nationals, ok?" Niou starts to giggle and I punch his shoulder hard. "Sorry I'm in a relationship." I say sarcastically.

Niou laughed and pulled me closer, "I'm just trying to imagine Sanada making out with a girl."

"Not any girl, me." I elbow Niou.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just trying to imagine Sanada making out with _you_." Niou snickers.

I roll my eyes and we enter the school together, "Hey, since you're being mean you can take off my sneakers and put on my school shoes…. _and_ help me up the stairs." I kick out my hurt leg. Niou rolls his eyes but bends down anyways and unties my shoes and helps me into my school shoes.

"You do realize this is the only time I will ever do this? Because you're hurt." Niou says as he slips on a black shoe over my white sock.

"You do realize you're going to have to change my shoes after school too? Because you love me."

Niou grunts, "That last part is questionable." I kick his shoulder lightly. "Fine, fine. I love you as a friend Ladybug and if you _need_ me to change your shoes after school I _suppose_ I could." Niou finished dramatically as he stands. I hug him. "Alright, enough hugging me, I need to get some lame girl up the staircase… and I mean that literally and with the pun intended." I roll my eyes and punch Niou's arm as he half drags half carries me up the stairs to my homeroom. "See ya later Buggie." Niou waves his hand and runs off when we finally get to my homeroom.

.-.

A/N: Note of notes: Expect a few random side stories based after this little time jump I did. I'm too lazy to add them directly to this story, plus I prefer writing certain scenes as a oneshot anyways. Just a heads up they'll come out eventually… Probably with the titles "Sleepless Life of a Teenager" and "Musical Life of a Teenager"


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

"Hi Daddy." I say cheerfully the second the phone picks up.

"Hey." Dad's in a good mood too. "I haven't heard from you in a long time. Your mother told me you won Nationals. Congratulations Baby!"

"Thanks Daddy." I kick my feet back and forth under the bench I'm at for lunch. Sanada's off having a meeting with Yukimura and Yanagi and I decided I'd ask about my party. "So Daddy… I have a question."

"You always do."

"Well, my birthday's coming up… and I kinda miss home… so I was wondering if we and some friends could go visit for a few days… maybe a weekend…"

There's a long pause and I think Daddy will say no but he sighs and says, "I'll see what I can do sweetie."

"Ah! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I bounce in my seat and set to work planning all the details.

"Hey Kokawa." Kirihara plops next to me and munches on a small bento box.

"Hey Kirihara." I don't want to tell everyone about the trip if Daddy hasn't said yes yet. I don't need to get people's hopes up. He opens his backpack and hands me a piece of paper, math notes.

"Can you explain this to me?" He asks, sliding closer to me so our thighs touch. After a simple explanation Kirihara nods his head and gives me a smile. "Thanks Amaya, I'd never pass this year if it wasn't for you." I elbow his shoulder.

"You'd better not fail any of your classes anymore. You have no excuses mister." I stick my finger right in his face and he rolls his eyes. I laugh and he just rolls his eyes again.

.-.

Kiyomi, Tsukiko, Imai and myself dance to "Super Bass" as sexily as we could. Sweat rolls down my back as I dip and shimmy and strut. The moves Yagyuu and I created work really well. I'm giggling before we even reach the chorus, it's just so awkward to be dancing like this in front of the boys. Kiyomi follows in suit and we're all on our backs gasping for breath from giggling and dancing so much. Yagyuu changes the song to a salsa and I hop to my feet and grab Sanada, he hasn't been dancing.

"Amaya." Sanada hisses.

"It's easy!" I tell him and step back and forth leading Sanada through the moves. "You do this and then when I come over tonight…" I trail off and let the blush on Sanada's cheeks tell me he actually understood what I was saying.

"You can't bribe me with kisses." Sanada hisses.

"I can and I do believe I just did." I say as Sanada attempts to follow my steps. He just blushes deeper and attempts to move fast enough for the music. By the end of the song he has a simple step mastered. At the moment mine and Yagyuu's little dance club is just the regulars using dance instead of a work out. I don't mind, I'd rather not have tennis practice, Buchou has left the team in mine, Kiyomi's, and Imai's hands.

The song ends, Yagyuu turns off the stereo and tells everyone it's time to go home. I hang back with Yagyuu and pick everything up, we've been using an unused room on the first floor since the gym is being used by the soccer team. Everyone wanders off except Sanada who helps us put desks back where they belong and set chairs out.

"Bye Yagyuu." I wave and let him lock up the place as Sanada and I leave hand in hand. Finally it's the weekend! I step and shimmy as we walk home. Sanada just holds my hand and grunts occasionally. At Sanada's house we have a quick supper and we both go back to his room. I used to feel self conscious about being sweaty and smelling but it's just become normal, we never have time or even care enough. Besides we're both athletes. A little shiver runs down my spine as I think to myself, _I am an athlete aren't I?_

Sanada's bed is plush as I sprawl across it, taking up the whole space. Sanada grunts. "Where am I supposed to sit?" I shrug and slide under his blankets, my body aches and I just want to relax.

"Ne, plug this in." I dig my iPod from my pocket and turn it to a play list filled with soft, lullaby like music. Sanada mumbles something that sounds like "Tarundoru" but plugs my iPod into his laptop and lets the music play through. With a sigh I curl into his pillow and breath deeply. The bed depresses near my feet and it squeaks as he starts to crawl across the bed. With my head buried in the pillow I listen to Sanada slide back the blankets and curl in behind me. His breathing was erratic and I could feel the excessive amounts of heat coming off him. "You ok Gen…" I mumble into the pillow.

"Fine." Sanada grumps before laying down beside me. The bed is far too small for the both of us to lay comfortably on our backs, I'm glad I'm on my side. Sanada sighs again and I twist to my other hip as smoothly as I can.

"What's wrong?" I ask as I set my head on his shoulder.

"Nothing." Sanada can't hide the blush on his face.

"Don't lie to me Gen." I murmur. "If this is uncomfortable f-"

"It's not!" Sanada cuts me off. "It's just…"

"New? Weird? Awkward?" He just nods his head. "It'll get better… right? I like you and you like me." He nods his head again. "I do believe I owe you a few kisses." He blushes deep red and glances up at me before his fingers dig themselves in my hair. Allowing myself to be pulled close I kiss Sanada on the lips. Just a light peck until Sanada's hands keep me from pulling away.

His lips press harder to mine and our noses bump when I try to move to a more comfortable place. A wet tongue brushes against my lips, in just a few shorts weeks Sanada has become quite the kisser, but we've only made out that once. I think Sanada's just nervous. Our teeth clank and Sanada pushes me away, his eyebrows are furrowed and I can tell he's frustrated. I roll my eyes as Sanada sits up, practically pushing me off the bed.

"Things aren't meant to be perfect the first time." I tell him as I sit up and fold my arms. Sanada glances at me and we have a glare down. "Relationships are like tennis Genichiro… back when you were like 9 maybe… but the analogy is still there." I state. "You don't just wake up being good at tennis, you don't just wake up being good at kissing."

"I hate the sound our teeth make when the clank, like nails on a chalkboard." Sanada shudders.

"Then get better at kissing." I taunt with a smirk like Niou's on my lips.

Sanada glares at me before he reaches forward and pulls me to him. Our lips meet and there's something different, Sanada's lost that reserve he had before. His tongue is wet on my mouth, there's too much spit and saliva but our teeth don't clank. There's a sloppy sound as Sanada's tongue slides across my own, his hands are burning holes against my hips before he pulls me onto his lap. His lips mold against mine and I can't stop myself from sighing as I run my hands over his shoulders. Noses brush, Sanada's hot breath is on my face, tongues touching each other. I close my eyes and straddle him, it's the only way I can get comfortable as I tilt my head so our noses stop bumping each other.

Sanada grunts as our teeth brush, not quite making a clank, and the vibrations give me a tingle in my bones. My hands find themselves tangled in his soft hair and I pull him closer as our lips peck and kiss quickly. Both our hearts are hammering hard, I can feel Sanada's heart _thump-thump-thumping_ against my own chest as we pant and gasp and try to comprehend what's going on. After a moment of blindly kissing Sanada's lips, cheeks, nose, forehead, I give up thinking and blame being a teenager. When I kiss Sanada's neck there's a low grumble in his throat, his hands clench my hips. I lean in to kiss him again when -

_Knock. Knock_.

We push each other away and attempt to straighten our clothes, flatten our hair, and calm the furious blushes on our cheeks. I gasp for breath and try and look as cool as possible when Haruko asks through the door, "Do you two want anything to drink?"

"No, we're fine." Sanada says just loud enough for his voice to carry through the door. We listen as Haruko shuffles down the hall and all that's left is the soft music playing in the background and the crazy beating of my heart. Again with the mood being ruined. Sanada grunts and turns on the TV to the tennis channel. Since he's not going to kiss me again I curl up under his blankets again and kick him down to the foot of the bed so I can sleep. "Sorry." He murmurs.

"Say sorry again and I'll never kiss you ever." I grumble into the pillow.

Sanada grunts, "Stop using kisses against me. It's highly unfair and you like kissing just as much as I do."

"Sure but I'm not a horny, hormone driven, teenage boy, I can go a while without needing kisses or affection."

"That's a lie." Sanada says.

"Wanna bet?"

"Yes, you won't be able to go one week without kissing me." "Deal. If you cave first you can't say 'tarundoru' or slap _anyone_ for an entire week."

"And if you cave you can't text for a whole week." That's not that bad, not that I'd tell Sanada that.

"Deal." We shake on it. No kisses for a week will be easy as pie.

.-.

No kisses for a week sucks so much! Of course Monday and Tuesday had to be the worst days of my life, pop quizzes one after another, huge test in Lit, some senior laughed at me because I'm a horrible Buchou, oh and today? Miss Yamasaki showed up and shoved me face first into a locker this morning. My head's throbbing from the harsh contact and all I want to do is curl up, cry until I can't cry anymore and then die. During lunch I settle with Niou behind the locker rooms since I'm too ashamed to find Sanada or Yukimura.

"This sucks!" I toss my head back and smack it into the wall behind us.

"Don't hurt yourself anymore Ladybug." Niou comments idly as he picks at his lunch. He glances at me through his bangs. "Are you talking about Yamasaki or the no-kissing thing?"

"Both." I whine.

"You're the one who agreed to the no-kissing… and Yamasaki's just a bitch. Want me to dye her hair puke green?"

"No… and I never thought after a few short weeks I'd become so… used to kisses…" I grunt.

"You're picking up his habits." Niou holds up a piece of purple cabbage to me and I wrinkle my nose, eugh. "You do that whole grunt thing now and it's cute because you're a girl." I punch his arm and he laughs. "You'll make it through the week without kissing… at least it's not as bad as a week without sex."

"We are not going there." I deadpan.

Niou laughs and slings his arm around my shoulder pulling me close to him. I elbow him in the ribs but he just keeps me in place.

"Amaya!" Kiyomi shrieks and runs over to us, "I need to talk you now!" She grabs my hand and yanks me from Niou. We hide in the locker rooms and she fills me in with the latest gossip; who's dating who, someone got caught drunk, another kid was caught smoking on school property, her and Momo's awkward love life that I don't want to know. I just nod my head and bear it all. The bell rings and the two of us run off for our next classes.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

Buchou and the other seniors have left the team in our hands. We've already started promoting the new season of tennis and there are a few new faces but mostly it's the same 1st and 2nd years. Next year we'll have a new round of freshman to take care of. All the girls mill about laughing and talking to each other, not really paying attention to Kiyomi, Imai, and myself. Imai clears her throat, they don't move. Kiyomi shouts "Hey!", they don't more.

"Hey!" I yell much louder and with more force than Kiyomi did. Everyone snapped to attention. "Line up!" Only a few people move. "Now!" Everyone runs to their places. Us three Captains all glance at each other trying to gather what we'll be doing.

"Alright." Imai steps forward, "We are the new Captains of the tennis team. If you didn't already know us; I'm Imai Hoshi, Mori Kiyomi, and Kokawa Amaya."

"We are not going to do that whole Captain, Co-Captain deal." Kiyomi steps forward and Imai steps back. "We're all acting as Captain and Co-Captain. None of us care how you refer to us, Buchou or Fukubuchou, ect, so long as it's respectful." A girl snickers in the background and I step forward.

"Even though it is off season we still need to keep ourselves and we can't get lazy and slack off. If you want to make it to the team you need to practice constantly. We will not tolerate anybody fooling around."

"We will know if something bad has happened." Kiyomi says.

"And you must keep your grades up. Failing marks will not be accepted." Imai adds. We pause and Imai clears her throat, "Ok, let's do twenty laps and stretches." Everyone runs off and the three of us keep close to each other as we run a few laps.

"Why don't we work on serves and backhands?" Imai says. "I saw a lot of weak backhands while we were at Nationals and from watching practice."

"Yea." Kiyomi nods her head.

"Aa." I nod my head too.

Twenty laps later Kiyomi gets everyone to double up and work on serves, and those that don't have room to practice on work on backhands in the sidelines. I wander around picking up a spare ball and tossing it back to a small black haired girl who smiles weakly at me. My eyes skim over everyone; their form, power, speed, accuracy. There are some people that clearly are just on the team to say they're on a team and then there are others that have potential, like the little black hair girl.

Imai and Kiyomi are chatting when I walk over, a new set of girls are practicing serves and their grunts and harrumphs act as background noise. "I think we should start working on doubles soon." Kiyomi says, "Amaya and I didn't have long to master doubles and I want the next pair to be good." I agree.

"Yea but you two turned out great."

"I don't want to risk it." I tell Imai solidly. "We should also start mastering at least simple formations with you, just in case."

"Yea!" Kiyomi bounces on her feet. "Plus then we can see how good the other team is." A tennis ball whizzes by our heads and we all turn to a second year with short spiky green hair. She has snake bites, a nose ring, and an industrial bar in her ear, along with three piercings on her lobs and another halfway between. Piercings aren't allowed but I guess since they're all clear dots I'll let it slide until tournaments arrive.

"Sorry guys." She says before she lifts the ball and turns back to her partner, a girl with long, flowing, baby blue hair and a large eyes. What an interesting pair. I watch them as Imai and Kiyomi set up round robin exercises. The punk has a powerful serve but the blue haired one has no problem controlling the ball and the power how she wants.

"Hey, who are they?" I point.

Imai peers over at them and smiles. "Oh that's Choshi Sachiko and Hida Umeko, they're in some of my classes. They're a surprisingly good pair but they never tried to get Doubles Two."

"Wait… wasn't there another good doubles team?" I look to Kiyomi who nods her head remembering as well.

"They were third years." Imai says.

"Damn." Kiyomi mutters and we watch Choshi and Hida and the other players.

After practice the three of us settle in our new office and set up a sign up sheet for doubles teams. I really want to see Choshi and Hida in action. I'm glad freshman usually don't make it to the team because we can set everything up now and have a whole year to hone our skills.

"Ok, so predicting Choshi and Hida become our Doubles Two, who makes Singles One and Two? I mean Singles Two is a huge responsibility… and we no longer have a secure three win." Imai leans back on her chair.

"I have a feeling that Choshi and Hida are good." I say.

"Yea, people that different don't get together if they don't play well together."

Imai nods her head, "Ok, well we still need a strong team, we're winning Nationals."

"Yosh!" I toss my fist into the air and Kiyomi laughs at me.

"Doubles first, then we'll work on singles." Imai nods her head surely.

.-.

Boy oh boy are Choshi and Hida good. They give Imai and myself a run for our money. Granted Imai and I aren't the greatest of partners but they're still good. Choshi dances back and forth along the net, her eyes taking in everything all at once while Hida observes and moves like a tiger. They're combination is good, Choshi seems to pay more attention to the ball and less to her partner so Hida is constantly on the guard and sets up moves for her partner. It's a good combination, in all honesty it reminds me of Marui and Jackal's play style.

I guzzle water down and watch the girls work on doubles formations. Besides Choshi and Hida the rest are decent at best. One girl actually knocks out her partner from swinging without looking around. Imai has to drag both girls off, one's knocked out and the partner is crying. Kiyomi and I glance at each other and sigh. No more doubles practice from here on out. Imai saunters back moments later rubbing her head.

"Man, clearly people need help with doubles."

"Yea, I think we need to work on doubles until at least spring."

"Agreed."

The three of us peer over the young teens attempting to play doubles. Choshi and Hida dominate the courts until I tell them ten cool down laps and everyone can hit the showers. First years stay behind and pick up balls, I can hear their grumbling about moving up in the world. Only a small handful of people run the laps and I step into the locker rooms to find everyone changing.

"Did you run your laps?" I ask loudly.

"Why are we training so hard?" A cocky second year leans against her locker in nothing more than her bra and a pair of short shorts.

"Because we need to prepare ourselves while we have the chance. I will not have a last minute team put together because you refuse to put any effort into the team."

"I'm not going to listen to you." The second year sneers at me.

"And you don't need to be on the tennis team." I fold my arms and glare. She puffs up her cheeks, gathers her things, and storms out of the room. Everyone is dead silent. "And if anyone else doesn't want to put effort into this team you can all just leave now. We will not tolerate slackers this year." I knew a lot of faces were unfamiliar, Buchou would never let anyone like these girls on the team. A good handful of girls actually stalk out of the room. The rest stare at me with wide eyes before racing off to the showers. Guess I get to be Bad Buchou.

"What was up with everyone stalking out?" Kiyomi asked me as I wait for the others to get out of the showers.

I shrug, "I just told them we need to put effort into this team and they left."

"Good, we don't need slackers on this team." Kiyomi stretches out beside me as the girls slowly filter out. Is this what Buchou had to deal with? Cranky, bitchy, slackers all the time? Wonderful.

.-.

"Being Buchou is hard." I whine as Sanada and I wander home side by side. Sanada's been staying late to study for exams and other fun things I get to deal with next year.

"Aa."

I whine for a moment longer before I intertwine our fingers and tug him close until I can wrap an arm around his waist. Sanada's solid under my grasp and I lean into his side enjoying every minute of it. With a loud sigh Sanada puts his arm around my shoulder.

"You'll make a fine Buchou." Sanada murmurs.

"Thanks." I murmur back. We reach my house and Sanada hugs me close. "Can't you come over tonight?" I mumble into his chest.

"I can't, I'm sorry Amaya."

"It's alright… wouldn't want to tempt you with kisses now would I?" I wink up at him trying to lighten the mood. Sanada just rolls his eyes and runs a hand through my hair before striding away. The week is almost over and then I can kiss Sanada again.

.-.

"Screw you!" I scream at the top of my lungs before slamming the door behind me. Kiyomi and Imai pound on the door to the office but it won't budge. I curl into the corner and sob. Stupid bitches! Why the hell can't people be nice? Yamasaki showed up with a hoard of little lackies and challenged us to a match. We beat them of course but when Yamasaki started shouting all these lies and rumors about me, Kiyomi, Imai and our new doubles team Choshi and Hida I lost it and punched her in the face. I understand why Kirihara was so violent in middle school, it felt so satisfying to feel her blood gushing against my knuckles. Now that the emotions have calmed I feel horrible. People bang on the door, I just sit in the corner, biting my hand in attempts to stop the screams from flying out of me.

"Open the door." Sanada's voice travels through the door with ease. I squeeze my eyes shut, frig, Sanada's just going to punish me too. "Now." It takes every ounce of willpower I have to crawl over to the door and unlatch it.

"Just Genichiro!" I yell through the door before scurrying back to my corner.

The door closes softly and I expect Sanada to start screaming at me but there's nothing but silence. After a moment I glance up at Sanada expecting to find anger in his eyes, instead I find sadness, disappointment, and worry. That scares me more. With a heavy sigh Sanada strides to me and settles beside me, carefully he grabs my hand that's currently in my mouth and pulls it. I let go and stare at the indents in my palm until they're enveloped by Sanada's large hands.

"What happened?" Sanada murmurs gently.

I tell him everything. "I just couldn't stand listening to her say such horrid things about us…. All of us… she called Hida the c-word and she called Choshi a mindless sl…" I trail off and wipe at my eyes. "I just… I just couldn't stop myself."

"That was very irresponsible."

"I know." I sob. "I know. I know. I know." I bury my face in my knees and cry. "I feel horrible about punching someone… no so much that it was Yamasaki but…"

"Kokawa," last names means bad news, "you do realize this means you should step down from your position and ask the rest of the team if they'd take you back." I nod my head and we fall silent for a moment. Sanada moves closer, his breath hot on my ear, "I heard it was a good punch. I wish I could have seen it." I smile and look up to Sanada who has a small smirk on his face. "Mind if we void the bet?"

"Only if you except that you lose." I reply.

Sanada lightly smacks the back of my head and says "Tarundoru." before he kisses me.

.-.

A/N: Be prepared for new characters -_- I was looking through my notes for this story and I had two girl's playing doubles back a long time ago but I don't remember where or what they looked like thus they were third years and we get Choshi and Hida!  
>Also <strong>Happy Halloween<strong> don't forget to read the latest addition to the "Life of a Teenager" series "Scary Life of a Teenager"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

I saunter home alone, Sanada had to stay behind for Yukimura or something. Though I'm happy I can't stop sulking, my team did take me back, a few even congratulated me, but it didn't change the fact I punched Yamasaki in the face and have a week's worth of detention because of it. How am I supposed to tell my Mom this? The door creaks open and just when I start to call out my presence I hear it… Mom and Daddy fighting, over the phone.

"Well when the hell are you coming home? I can't raise a family by myself!… Yes I know but that's still no excuse for you!… yea… don't you miss us?" Before I can hear Mom's reaction I race off to my room and crank my iPod. Why does everything happen at once? With the music and a pillow around my face I scream as loud as possible. How can Yukimura and Buchou deal with the stress of their teams? I don't think Buchou would have ever punched someone in the face for saying bad things about someone, but then again, I don't think anyone would dare say things like that around Buchou. Buchou is a lot like Hida.

Not knowing what else to do I call up Kiyomi. "Can I come over?" I ask lamely.

"I have homework to do…." Kiyomi grunts.

"I'll buy sushi."

"Deal."

As fast as possible I gather everything and some money and run out the door telling Mom I was visiting a friend as I ran. My heart sits heavy in my chest as I ride the bus alone. It's been a while since I've been to Kiyomi's, usually we avoid her small apartment, she's always invited herself over when she wanted. Lately I haven't done much, I'm actually missing Tsukiko and the rest of the team. I think I need to plan a party, oh wait, my birthday's coming up.

There's too many stairs to climb in Kiyomi's apartment, but I do so as quickly as possible. Two quick knocks and Kiyomi opens the door in baggy sweats and a sweatshirt, she doesn't greet me, she just takes the sushi from my hands and heads back into the house. The two of us settle on a old green couch and eat sushi, watch TV, and do our homework. Like my house her parents are rarely around but it's nothing new to me.

"So what's up?" Kiyomi asks when we finish all the sushi.

"My parents are fighting I think, I just couldn't be home anymore… and I really miss everyone."

"Yea." Kiyomi stretches out on the couch, "We need to have a party."

"My birthday's coming up." I state.

"That'll be fun."

"Yea. How are things with you and Momo?"

"Good, he's just as stressed as we are since he's Fukubuchou now."

"He's not Buchou?"

Kiyomi shakes her head, her hair flaps in her low pony tail, "Kaido's Buchou."

"Ahh, he's the snake on right?"

"Yea, we played doubles against them that one time." I snicker at the memory, Kaido and Momo have such a bad combination. "Anyways, it's still stressful."

"Yea." I sigh and wonder how we're going to survive.

.-.

I pant for breath as Yagyuu and I finish a song. My heart hammers inside my chest as I drape my arms over his shoulders. "Damn that hurt." I heave for breath. Yagyuu pushes up his glasses and pries away from my grasp. Together we clean up the room and head outside into the brisk air.

"Kokawa-Kun, would you care to get ramen with me?"

"Sure." I say and the two of us head off together. Practice has taken up most of my time but I still find time to dance with Yagyuu. It's always nice, I can dance like an idiot around Yagyuu and he just smiles at me. I'm sure I amuse him.

I loop our arms together as we head to a nearby restaurant. Yagyuu pushes up his glasses again and acts as if we didn't just dance so close just moments ago. For some reason it doesn't feel weird to dance with Yagyuu anymore, it just feels right.

That evening I call Sanada and we just talk, in a normal tone for once since Sanada's still technologically impaired. He talks about the exams he's studying for, about how Kirihara is doing a good job at being Buchou, how he and Yukimura went out shopping today while I was at class. When I mention Yagyuu and I dancing I can sense the hesitation over the phone.

"Gen… you're still jealous aren't you?" I murmur.

There's silence.

"Genichiro… I don't like Yagyuu like that I swear. He's not my type… you are… I…." I have to stop myself, I almost said those three words. Those three words that could change everything. "I'm with you."

Finally Sanada speaks, "I know."

"Don't be jealous, please."

"I won't." He murmurs softly. "I trust you and I trust Yagyuu."

"I'm glad, I won't break your trust."

.-.

"Fifty laps!" Imai orders, people scatter.

It's late November and we've got everyone whipped into shape and we have our team for next year! Just last week we decided on the official team, we held an intraranking tournament for anyone seriously considering joining the team. We only had enough for two brackets and we used Choshi and Hida as our bases since they're good single players. The girls curl into their sweats and hoodies, I don't care that they aren't wearing the "appropriate" uniform but it's pretty cold. I, on the other hand, still wear my short sleeved shirt and skirt, it's just a little chilly.

We only have about 30 girls at best at practice now-a-days. Nobody seems to mind though, finally we've gotten rid of all the girls that weren't really interested in tennis now we have the hardcore players, or those who really want to learn. There's a little first year girl who's trying so hard to keep up, her scrawny little legs shake under her sweats as she finishes her 15th lap and collapses. Imai glances to me and then to Kiyomi before going to the girl, helping her sit up and talking to her. Masuzoe Aiko was the girl's name, she stuck out in my mind because of how driven she was, she lost all her matches in the intraranking tournament 6-0 or 6-1 but she didn't give up. There were a few other girls that lost all their matches like she did and they just stopped showing up. Masuzoe was different and everyone on the team was willing to help her along.

"Poor girl." Kiyomi sighs, folding her arms over her bright yellow jacket.

"Aa." I nod as Imai helps Masuzoe onto a bench to let her rest. The rest of the girls jog by. "We've got a good team this year." I murmur.

"I do miss our old team."

"Aa."

I smirk when Kawano Keiko runs by, the girl from my English class with her light pink hair. She's one of our preregulars, she's pretty good for only playing in gym class. She's not good enough for the team but she's still a good player.

"Hey, what do you think about using the preregulars during the district tournament. It'll give us time to work on formations and such."

"We should talk to Hoshi but I like the idea." Kiyomi nods her head and everyone finishes their laps, I assume Masuzoe only finished 20 of the 30 laps but it's good progress for her.

"Alright everyone," Kiyomi steps forward, "partner up because we have a fun exercise today!" Everyone groans, nobody likes these fun exercises. Kiyomi nods her head and our personal Data Tennis Star Otaka Youko walks through the mass of girls. Otaka has been quite the find, she's much more analytical than Chie and has almost a oblivious attitude to everything.

Otaka sets down a large box and smiles at all of us, "Everyone pick up four weights, add one to each wrist and ankle weight please." Everyone grunts but does as commanded. Kiyomi, Imai and I have max amount of weights on already. My fingers touch the black band on my wrist, the girls may hate having these on but it'll pay off soon enough. Otaka sets up the colored ball exercise, three different colored cones and tennis balls that have a stripe of one color. Easy.

I help Otaka for a few rounds, the girls do well considering the new weight. Otaka takes her data and sets to work on her laptop as soon as we finish the exercises. Everyone rushes inside to fight for a hot shower. She peers her head out and blinks at everyone before ducking back into the office.

"What does she do in there? I mean really." Kiyomi shows up beside me.

"Who knows." Imai shrugs her shoulders before she scolds some girl for leaving her racket on the floor.

"Whatever she does as long as she gets us results I could care less." Kiyomi stretches her hands above her head, "Tomorrow's dance right?" "Yup." I nod my head. Since it's the off season there's no morning practice and we have Wednesday's and Friday's off. Wednesdays all of us usually go to my dance class. Saturday's I hang out with my girlfriends and Sunday's are for my boyfriend and the other men in my life. The girls chatter and gossip while they get ready to leave. They're all well behaved, no Yamasaki or other mean girls.

"Hey, Kokawa, did we have any English homework?" Keiko asks when she slings her backpack over her shoulder.

"We had to translate chapter two."

"That's all? Alright, thanks." She smiles, waves, and heads out the door with another few girls. People wander around for a moment or two before they face the inevitable cold leaving Imai, Kiyomi, and myself alone with Otaka in the office.

"We're leaving for my birthday." I tell them.

"What?"

"Friday after school until late Monday, next week." I smile, "We're only missing one day." I shrug when Imai gives me a bad look.

"Who's going?" Imai asks.

"All the regulars last year… and the boys too."

Kiyomi nudges me hard in the side, "Ah! Gonna get a little action with that little boy toy of your's?" I flush deep red despite the fact she's wrong. Sanada and I haven't had much alone time lately, not that I mind.

"I'm game." Imai nods her head, "I can miss a day of school."

"Cool."

"Where are we going anyways?" Kiyomi asks.

"The mountains to a resort. My daddy loves me." I smile wide and play innocent.

"So totally game." Kiyomi thrusts her hand into the air and we all laugh.

.-.

"Genichiro." I mumble from where I sit in Sanada's lap. It was our Sunday to relax, Sanada and I sat in the living room of his house watching movies wrapped in a large, fluffy blanket. His mother occasionally wandered by to check up on us but we were both too tired and didn't want to get caught to do anything.

"Aa?" Sanada's breath brushes against the top of my hair. The smell of a cinnamon candle fills the living room as we watch Megamind together.

"I don't want to grow up."

"You already are grown up."

"I mean leaving school and starting life."

"You have college to help adjust."

"Aren't you scared of growing up?" "No, such a fear is tarundoru." I huff and fold my arms over my chest. Sanada's arms wrap around me and hold me close to him, he leans forward so his breath tickles my ear. "You're not tarundoru though."

"Whatever you say babe." I growl back. Sanada growls in the back of his throat and squeezes me tight. "Hey, can we play tennis together soon? Like Monday or Tuesday? I miss the old days."

"Aa." Sanada releases me and leans back on the seat. I sigh, what am I going to do next year when Sanada's not around much. Oh well Imai and Kiyomi get by not seeing their boyfriends very often, at least Imai doesn't ramble on about her boyfriend all the time. I wiggle my toes under our warm blanket and go back to watching my favorite movie. Being afraid of growing up _is_ tarundoru.

.-.

"Amaya… Amaya…" Sanada murmurs. "Tarundoru, wake up." I groan and shift into the warmth surrounding me. "Amaya wake up." With a grunt I open my eyes and glare at Sanada, he smirks, "You're hair is messed up." I reach up, ruffle his hair into a nest and snuggle back into his chest. Sanada grunts and shifts me off him so he could stand up off the couch. "Amaya you need to wake up."

With one last grunt I sit up and run my fingers through my hair as Sanada leads me into the dining room where his family is waiting. They all smile at us as we sit down. Haruko serves me a large bowl of miso soup, Sanada's favorite.

"Sanada-Oka-San, you have to teach me how to make miso soup sometime."

"Of course dear, I'd love to."

Sometimes I wish I had a family like this where everyone could sit around the table and talk and enjoy themselves. Instead I get Josh making lame jokes and Mom always staring off into the distance if she's ever home, and I don't want to mention the fact that Dad _still_ hasn't come home from wherever he is.

After supper Sanada walks me home while he holds onto my hand. At my doorstep he pulls me into a tight hug and holds me close for a while. I don't care and cling to him as tightly as I can, he must have sensed my depressed mood during supper.

"Amaya," he breathes into my ear, "I… I… I love you."

My hands shake as I hold him as tightly as I can, "I love you too."

He kisses me, just lightly on the lips. "Don't be afraid to grow up, alright? You'll always have me." I give him one last kiss before running off to my room like the teenager girl I am. He said he loved me! He loves me! And I love him! Life is so perfect.

.-.

A/N: I want to take this note to tell everyone that reviews I love you (not in the creepy way) and those of you that don't review I love you too (also not in the creepy way) and I wanted to state you guys really do help me write the story, your reviews give me little ideas to plop into the story. So if you see something that you commented about earlier you can take pride in knowing you helped create that. I'm getting rather tired with the story _**but**_ I do plan on finishing this story (and a few short stories once I get around to them).


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

I practically float to Niou's side during lunch, he's with Yagyuu, Kirihara, and Marui in the music room we use for dance. Niou smirks at me as I settle between him and Kirihara.

"Dude, why is it you spend lunch with us and not your boyfriend when Jackal won't?" Marui complains before blowing a bubble with his apple bubble gum.

"Because he hates you, you fatass." Niou snickers.

Marui glares at Niou, "I won't hurt you because there's a lady present."

"You've hit me in front of Kirihara before." Niou retorts.

"Hey!" Kirihara and I exclaim together. "I'm not a boy!" I yell as Kirihara yells, "I'm not a girl!" "Prove it." Niou smirks and I punch his shoulder so hard he says, "Ow!" and starts to rub his shoulder.

"Ha-ha!" Marui stuck his tongue out at Niou and I just roll my eyes.

"What's this word?" Kirihara points to a word.

"Levity, it's lightheartedness." I say.

"_Levity_?"

When I nod he goes back to his work, his black curls falling over his face. He glances up at me and glares. I roll my eyes and go back to picking at my bento box.

"So are things with you and Sanada ok?" Marui asks.

"Yea, why do you ask?"

"She always eats lunch with me." Niou explains.

"Not always. Just a lot of the time."

"Why?" Kirihara asks.

"Why not?"

"So who's Fukubuchou now?" I ask Kirihara turning the conversation away from myself for the time being.

.-.

My feet skip and scuff against the pavement as Sanada and I walk to the street courts. Kiyomi and Imai are covering for me as I skip practice, we've decided we can get one day a month to skip Buchou-Duty until the new year. I swing mine and Sanada's hands back and forth as we walk.

"You shouldn't be so cheerful," Sanada scolds, "you're skipping practice."

I shrug, "They don't care, it's my birthday present from the team."

Sanada grunts and lets go of my hand as we arrive at the tennis courts. Nobody's running around, they're all too cold to play tennis. I'm even in my sweats but I'm sure once we get moving we'll warm up. We get our rackets and head onto an empty court.

The game is simple, just rallying back and forth. We're quiet and I don't care, playing tennis with Sanada is enough. The pocking the ball is a pleasant sound.

"Ah~n? What's this? Sanada has to resort to playing tennis with a _girl_." Sanada controls the ball into his hand and I turn to stare at a certain silver-purple haired boy. Atobe Keigo stood before us with a smirk on his face, behind him was a few boys, more Hyotei boys. Atobe looks me over and grins. "Kokawa-Dear, is that you? What are you doing here with… _him_?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I reply as solidly as I an.

Atobe smiles wide at me. Sanada grabs my shoulder protectively, Atobe's eyes dart between us. "Ore-Sama does not need to explain Ore-Sama's self to commoners like you." He flicks his nose up and I roll my eyes.

"You know very well I'm not a commoner and don't you dare talk about Genichiro like that."

"Ah~n, first name bases? Kokawa-Dear you must tell Ore-Sama these things."

"Go away Atobe." I hiss. Atobe, since my family is rich, is something like a family friend, we only ever get together when Daddy's home. I was actually invited to his birthday party last month but didn't go, too many people that are only there for the booze and fancy food.

One of the boys snickers at Atobe, he's got a blue hat backwards on his hat and black hair, he's on the shorter side compared to the rest of them. Atobe glares at the boy for a moment before turning his attention back to us. "Kokawa, Ore-Sama is proud to tell you that Ore-Sama will be coming to your birthday party. Be awed by -"

"You're not coming to my birthday." I tell him before he can finish his sentence. Atobe's eyebrows furrow.

"You ungrateful little girl." Atobe murmurs flicking at his hair, "Unable to recognize the beauty that is Ore-Sama."

"Che." Sanada murmurs from behind me.

"Is there anything you need Atobe?" I ask, leaning closer towards Sanada.

"Nothing." Atobe smiles, "Unless you'd like to play a match with Ore-Sama."

A redhaired boy bounds up beside Atobe, "But you said _we_ were going to play tennis today! I want to play!" While the short kid has Atobe's attention a brown haired boy runs up to me and grabs my hands.

"Do you know Marui?" He asks with wide excited eyes.

"Ah, yes?"

"Oh! I love Marui! He's my idol! Look! Look!" He holds out his wrist to reveal a small sweat band around his wrist, "This is Marui's! Oh! Will you tell him Jirou-San said hi? Please?"

"Ah, sure." I pull my hand from his clammy hands and turn look at Sanada who's glaring at the crowd.

"Play a game with me!" The redhead yells at us, "With me and Yuushi!"

"No." Sanada says.

"Afraid?" The redhead teases.

"No." Sanada squeezes my shoulder tightly.

"Che, lame." The blue-capped boy mutters. My eye twitches, nobody calls my boyfriend lame.

"You know as well as I do that unofficial matches are _not_ allowed. Even in off-seasons." I stuff my hands on my hips and try to look as intimidating as possible. The boy snorts and turns to the incredibly tall boy beside him and murmurs something. Sanada's hand squeezes my arm close to the point of really hurting me. "Go home Atobe."

The blue-haired boy smirks at me and with a deep, low tone he says, "What a strong willed girl." Sanada's hand tenses and I wince. "Ah, darling," that man dares step forward to smile at me through round rimmed glasses, "if your little… boyfriend is hurting you you're always welcome to come to me." He smiles, trying to be sexy and flirty.

"Go to hell." I spit at him. "Nobody insults my boyfriend. Got it?" The boy smiles but backs away.

"Let's go." Sanada grabs my elbow and pulls me to our bags.

"Did Ore-Sama tell you that you could leave?" Atobe asks stepping forward.

I give him my most evil glares possible. "Back off."

"So long as you promise to talk to Ore-Sama later." Atobe smiles.

"Deal." I grab my bags and shove by the Hyotei boys with Sanada at my side still just as tense as ever. "Ugh."

"I'm sorry if I hurt you." Sanada apologizes, "Atobe just…." His hands clench.

"I understand, don't worry." I huff and can't help but think it was such a weird encounter. Atobe had better not show up at my birthday or his creepy friends for that matter.

.-.

I'm so excited for my birthday! I can't focus at all. My eyes keep drifting out the window, past the lessons I should be learning. How can I focus when I'm going on an amazing vacation with my bestest friends.

"Kokawa, what's the answer to this problem?" People snicker, I've been caught. I flush but look at the problem, trying to quick calculations.

"82."

"Correct."

"Sensei," some girl raises her hand, "I got 28 as the answer." So sensei goes off explaining the problem to her and I stare out the window again. The bell rings and I run full force down the halls to gym class. The locker rooms stink but I could careless as I throw on sweats and a tank top and run outside. We're playing basketball, basketball is alright, not my favorite sport, but it'll do.

Kiyomi and I end up on the same team and we jog back and forth across the court; sneakers squeak, girls call out "Open!", the _swish_ of the ball through the basket, all fill up the court. The large orange ball is too firm and awkward in my hands as I dribble a little and pass to some girl on the basketball team. She zooms across the court, pony tail flying, and gets another basket. Hurray, I think we're winning!

The bell rings and I dive for the showers, actually getting one of the first ones. It's my birthday people can deal with it. The water is lukewarm at best but as long as I don't smell like sweat I don't care. Kiyomi and I grin wide at each other as we sling our backpacks over our shoulders heading towards the tennis locker rooms. We all kept our things in the office for this weekend.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouts when I walk into the office. People hug me, slap my back, and give me small shoves. We all just grab bags, nobody seems to care if they're holding each others things, they're all going to the same place. "I'm so excited!" Madoka shrieks in my ear.

"So how we getting to this resort thing? Where is it anyways?" Tsukiko asks.

"How do you think?" I ask when the boys meet up with us outside.

"A limo!" Kiyomi shrieks spotting the black limo in the parking lot. Kids stare at it as they walk by but I don't care as I hold Sanada's hand in my own. Josh leans out the window with a huge grin on his face. "Party!" He yells out. I just shake my head as we pack all our bags into the limo and clamber inside. Sanada sits close beside me as Josh controls the radio to a hiphop station and cranks the volume.

.-.

A/N: I am really sorry about not being around, and I'm sorry in advance because for the next week my life is utterly devoted to my drama club. We're doing Footloose and the show is the 17, 18, and 20th (no 19th because of football - Hurray because that's my birthday!) Anyways, don't expect an update for a little while because I'm either at school, doing homework, at drama, being exhausted, or watching Big Bang Theory (I'm addicted). Thanks for your patience and you're reviews, alerts, favs, everything J


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

The next four hours I listen to music I don't care about and bad jokes and fights but I don't care it's how these guys act. Sanada's comfortable when I lean on him as we drive to the mountains. When we arrive it's getting dark and my mom and dad greet us outside the resort with a big hug and kiss on my forehead. They've been fighting nonstop lately, they've only quieted down because it's my birthday.

We're given room arrangements and an hour to relax before my birthday party. It's the same rooms as the time we all went to the camp before Nationals. Kiyomi, Tsukiko, Imai, and myself in a room. I made the arrangements since it's my birthday.

The resort is a large hotel with the whole ski, snowboarding, tubing, sledging aspect (fake snow to enhance the little snow they've gotten up here) and they have an indoor-heated pool, outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna, and a large rec room. I picked the resort myself, while it's not Furano it'll do for a weekend with my friends. The room is incredible, four large beds lined up against one wall with a huge TV on the wall. In one corner is a little cozy area with a table and chairs and we have our own bathroom. Everyone dives for their own bed.

"Mine!" We all yell and dive for the bed we want. They're nice and fluffy when I get my bed closest to the wall, I'm not fond of the standard crème colored theme of the room but with a bed this soft I could care less.

"We have an hour." I say.

"Let's go scope." Tsukiko sits up and runs off.

"Aren't we all in a relationship?" Imai asks as we trail after Tsukiko.

"Yea, so? Doesn't mean we can't look." All of us keep our eyes peeled for the rec room, the place with handsome men no doubt. Everyone branches off when we get to the rec room, each has their own preference in men; Imai likes runners, Tsukiko likes weightlifters, Kiyomi likes them all, me? I like my boyfriend. Under the whirring of cycles and the grunts and clanks of men lifting weight I hear the tell-tale _pock_ sound of tennis. I wonder who that could be.

Sanada, Yukimura, and Yanagi stand in a small half tennis court bouncing balls back and forth against the wall. Their control is amazing. They bounce the ball in the same spot but when they do it moves down the line. Sanada hits the ball, then Yukimura, then Yanagi and back. It's cool to watch. My black-capped friend turns half a step and notices me, I must have scared him because when the tennis ball slammed into his racket it flew from his grasp with a clatter. Yukimura and Yanagi both turn and smile at me before I enter the room via a small plexiglass door.

"You're on vacation and you play tennis." I tease.

Yukimura giggles, "We need to keep ourselves in shape Kokawa-Chan."

"I know, but you can go skiing or snowboarding or something cool while we're here." Yukimura giggles again.

"Kokawa-Chan, even though we _have_ been on ski trips before we're from the coast, remember that. It's cold outside."

"Cold… outside? Was it?" I ask seriously.

"Aw, you're so cute." Yukimura ruffles my hair, "Why don't we play a match of tennis, the four of us?"

"Ah…" Me playing against the DemiGod and the Master? "Sure?"

Yukimura smirks and the four of us leave to find a full court inside the rec room. Yukimura lets me borrow one of his rackets and I twirl it around and bounce a ball a few time before I glance to Sanada afraid. Every time I've ever played with Sanada we were just warming up or being easy but I doubt that'll happen this time. Yukimura has a deadly look on his face when he walks to the baseline.

"Ah…." I glance at Sanada.

"Play the net." Is all he says, he's no longer focusing on me anyways. Even Yanagi looks way too serious. Eep. I crouch at the net listening for any signs of Sanada's movements, at least I'm not completely used to playing with Kiyomi, Imai's not that good at doubles since she never calls out her position. I figure Sanada will be like that too. My senses go on high alert, I listen for Sanada's movements and I attempt to search for any tells or habits Yukimura or Yanagi might have.

Sanada appears at my side and takes a return I could have gotten very easily. He grunts and turns to run into me, I jump back and allow him free rein of the court. Yanagi's eyes twinkle at me in a mischievous way. "This is doubles Genichiro." Yanagi reminds my boyfriend who's taking all the shots.

Yukimura controls Sanada back and forth around the court. Of course Yukimura's better than Sanada, we're talking about the Child of God here. Yukimura smirks right as he hits a lob, the ball zooms up and over mine and Sanada's head. I race backwards and at the last second hop up to slam the ball at Yanagi's feet.

"Thanks." Sanada admits.

I don't respond as I take my spot at the baseline. Yukimura smirks, tosses the ball into the air and slams his racket down. The ball's a yellow blur as it heads towards me. I blink, trying to adjust to the speed and swing my racket forward. It makes contact but the ball's so strong my wrist shakes. When I see the yellow ball zooming back over the net and Sanada taking steps backwards I run forwards to the net, my whole arm tingles.

Yukimura and Yanagi's combination is different, Yanagi knows Yukimura like the back of his hand and is aware of how to set up shots and whether or not Yukimura will be able to get the ball. Me, on the other hand, I've never worked with Sanada before but if he wants to take the lead then that's ok.

The game goes to Yukimura and Yanagi, they're playing doubles and Sanada's only playing singles. I grab his arm just before he serves. "This is doubles." I murmur, "You won't win against them unless _we_ play together."

Sanada's eyes narrow but he sighs, "Don't get in my way, please." He tries to pull his arm from mine but I squeeze it.

"Play doubles. Play defense for once, let me make the shots ok?" Doubles is my turf. Sanada nods his head and I walk to the net thinking. Sanada's going to probably try and overstep since he's not good defense, Yanagi will use that to his advantage. Widening my stance I crouch a little lower and feel the ball zoom right by my head. Yanagi likes hitting straight shots. I jump back a few steps and bounce on the tips of my toes. Straight shot, right into my racket. Yukimura isn't fond of playing the net, he's bound to try and force me to lob. Sanada growls from behind me so I let him take Yukimura's shot.

Hopping from foot to foot I forget I'm not playing with Kiyomi, Kiyomi knows how I move but Sanada doesn't. I step back a shot I can use to get Yanagi away from the baseline. I step again and slack into Sanada. Instantly I dive out of the way and let Sanada take the shot instead. I messed us up, Sanada was so confused with me hitting him he lobbed the ball. Yanagi smirked and slammed the ball down.

"Damn it." I grunt before going back to the net.

"Sorry." Sanada grunts back.

The game continues a lot like this, Sanada and I constantly trip over each other and it only frustrates us more. At the end of the fourth game, all in favor of Yukimura-Yanagi, I grab Sanada's shoulders. "Focus." I tell him. "I know you've played doubles before. We _can_ do this. We know each other like the backs of our hands outside of tennis so why the hell is this so difficult?"

He sucks in a deep breath but nods his head. I bend at the knees and hear Sanada serve the ball over my head. He moves and I move. My ears strain to listen to his movements but I care less and less about it as the volley starts up. We trust each other with our whole lives and I start to play like that. I move around Sanada as he plays full force. He forces Yanagi into lobbing a ball and glances to me. Curious I run up and smash the ball into the ground, did he just set up a shot for me? He nods his head at me.

"Thanks." I tell him.

"Aa." He nods.

A smile blossoms on my face, we're figuring this out. Playing tennis is just like life, Sanada's rather aggressive with most people but he's reserved around me, tennis doesn't change that too much. I feel his hesitation around me now that he realizes we're a team, I point behind my back and hear Sanada follow my lead. Yanagi smirks at me and reads through me pinning Sanada into the corner of the baseline. Damn it. I don't dare step in to help because Yanagi probably has planned me to step in to save Sanada from taking shot after shot after shot. I'm not going to fall for that, Sanada's strong enough to handle it. Instead I glare down Yukimura who's smiling amused at me.

"Not going to save your boyfriend?" He teased.

"Nope." I retort. Yanagi's grip loosens just enough and I dive in to catch the ball he lobbed. Sanada already started towards the other side of the court. Yanagi grunts as Yukimura's forced to take the shot, aiming perfectly for my feet. Crap. All I can do is hop away so it doesn't smash into my toes. Point to - _pock_. The yellow ball flies past my face shocking all of us. Sanada stands proud behind me, chest puffed up and all. "Thanks hun."

He grunts and glares at me. The game picks up again, Yukimura and Yanagi easily stopping any plan I tried to set in motion. No matter how good my game making skills were I was no match for these guys, even Sanada was struggling, one on one is a different story. Stupid doubles with Sanada.

"Guys." A voice cuts through the high tension of the game. Everyone stops and the ball bounces and rolls to a stop near my foot. Kiyomi rolls her eyes at us, "You have ten minutes before supper." It's only been 50 minutes? My body feels like I've been playing for hours.

"Oh! I need to shower and change!" I stuff my racket into Sanada's hands and race off down the halls to my hotel room. Kiyomi trailed after me as I bolted for the shower, not caring that it was scalding hot when I finally hopped in to the stream of water. There was no time for a proper shower so I just wet my body down and scrubbed at my hair for a moment before jumping out. If there's an award out there for fastest time getting ready I should win it. In ten minutes I showered, dressed, applied makeup, and used Kiyomi's straightener to dry my hair and make it look nice.

"Have fun playing tennis with your boyfriend?" Kiyomi asks as we walk down the halls with flats and nice dresses on, this is my birthday party we're going to.

"Yea, I suppose." I shrug, "I'd rather be playing tennis with you."

Kiyomi snickers, "I'm more awesome than your boyfriend."

"I didn-"

"You know it's true." Kiyomi nudges me and we giggle the rest of the way to the conference hall my dad's reserved for us tonight. I step inside and gape, the lights are dimmed, small candles twinkle on a u-shaped set of tables, there's black table clothes with glittering things on top of it. There's a two tier cake Mom decorated with her expert hand and there's black and purple balloons tied up on the back of chairs. Everyone smiles at me from their seats, my seat has a large Happy Birthday balloon tied to it and Sanada's sitting next to it with a half smile.

"Aw." I coo, "Thanks so much." I hug Kiyomi, then my mother who squeezes the life from me, and then my father who pats my back hard and says something about me growing up. We're given a large buffet and told to go crazy. Marui's second in line, after me of course, and piles his plate high with all the foods he can get his hands on.

"Stop eating all the food." Niou complains.

"Shut up." Marui retorts with a mouth full of crackers.

"Manners." I kick Marui's foot gently.

"Sorry." He says through the food, I just roll my eyes.

Everyone settles and begins to eat. It makes me smile to be able to look up and see all my friends talking and chatting. I nibble on snacks for a while until my mom, being the coordinator that she is, shouts out "Cake time!" Marui claps loudly and Niou smacks the back of his head. Sanada glared at them and started to mutter something before Mom's loud singing covered everything up. Before I knew it all my friends were singing Happy Birthday to me, some were serious, some were singing at the top of their lungs, regardless I was giggling by the end of it. Happiness filled me inside as Mom set the cake down in front of me.

Mom's baking skills haven't failed her yet, she made me a two-tier round cake with white frosting. She made drop lines with purple, little shell borders with maroon, and dark blue roses. Happy Birthday Amaya with a heart was written on the top with swirly blue letters and there was a large rose by my name. I smiled and blew out the three candles on top of the cake with my wish on the top of my head, _I hope life turns out good._

.-.

With the cake devoured, thanks to Marui and Kiyomi, Mom started bringing up presents. I got a variety of things; books from Yagyuu and Yukimura, Nabari no Ou volume from Kirihara, gift cards from a few people, Setsuko made me the vampire teddy bear from Nightmare Before Christmas, Kiyomi got me a Best Friend necklace. Next I came across a small square box wrapped with black paper with white spots on it. It looked like a night sky. I took my time opening the package and find a bouquet of roses on the inside, curious I take them out and smell them.

"Careful, there's thorns." Sanada warns.

I nod and carefully put my fingers around the thorns and on two of them was a little piece of paper tied around them. After I breathed in their sweet smell I opened the first paper and read "Love is much like a rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense." ~Mark Overby. A smile bloomed across my face as I opened up the next piece of paper, on a rose that felt fake inside was a little note "If I had a rose for every time I thought of you , I'd be picking roses for a lifetime." and after that Sanada wrote, "So I got you a fake rose, that will never wither like our love."

I hug Sanada as tightly as I can and kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

Kiyomi reached for the roses but I pulled them away and but them back into the box for safety, I'll get them water soon. Lastly was my parents present, I can't imagine what they'd get me. There was a large square box wrapped with Christmas paper, I glare at my mom who just smiles, she knows I don't like Christmas before my birthday, it's just a rule I've always had. Relatives already mix Christmas and my birthday into one so I get one lump gift. I unwrap the box and find two smaller boxes inside. One says it's from Josh and the other from my parents. I open the one from Josh, inside was a new camera. Awesome. I hug Josh and go to the last package, slowly I unwrap it until I smile and mentally roll my eyes. They got me an iPad, I thank them deeply and hug them. My friends coo over the iPad and huddle around me prodding me into trying it out.

"No," I whine, "I'll do it later. C'mon let's pump some music and dance the night away."

.-.

It must have been close to midnight before we stopped dancing, swimming, or playing in the 24-hour rec room. My body ached but I was still really happy, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. There was a small study room off the main area of the resort, I settled into a plush chair and started working out my iPad.

"Amaya." Sanada's voice carried across the small, dark room.

"Come sit." I tell him without looking up.

"What are you doing? The girls are looking for you, they want to play True or Dare with you."

"They'll be fine without me for a while." I reply as my tall boyfriend sits next to me. "Thanks for the roses, they're really pretty." "I didn't know what else to get."

"It's perfect."

"I'm glad." He kisses me softly. "I… I love you."

Happiness floods through my body as I smile, "I-I l-love you too."

Sanada's warm lips kiss my forehead and he peers down at the tablet in my lap. "Technology is tarundoru." I giggle and we play checkers on it. Sanada keeps trying to smash his finger into the touch screen, clearly he doesn't understand the touch screen is incredibly sensitive. It's so cute when Sanada growls at the screen for not reading his movements or when he pokes the screen trying to figure out how it works. For quite some time we sit and play games and draw pictures until I'm yawning every other second.

"It's time for bed." Sanada states firmly.

"Yea, I'm going." I turn off the iPad and we shuffle down the hall hand in hand.

.-.

The resort was the best fun I've ever had. We went skiing, played tennis, swam, relaxed, danced, and enjoyed ourselves. My favorite memory has to be the second day we were there, they had an outdoor, unheated pool and it was a cold night. I dove in first, the water had been cold but not overly cold to me. Nobody would jump in so I asked Sanada to pull me out only I used leverage and yanked him into the pool, hat in all. He came up sputtering and coughing and shaking with cold. Niou, Marui, and Kirihara started to laugh until Buchou and Setsuko shoved them into the water. Before we knew it we were all in the cold pool outside swimming around each other vowing never again to swim outside in the winter.

.-.

A/N: Since I've been gone for a while (Thanks to Footloose which went amazingly by the way) I decided to make this chapter a little longer than the rest, so enjoy! Expect updates becoming a little more regular (I'm on vacation this whole week so I have plenty of time to write and write and write some more).


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

A routine set in when we came home from the resort; school, short tennis practice or dance lessons, homework, hang out with friends, sleep, repeat. Nothing changed for two weeks, rumors spilled up about a Winter Ball and Yamasaki pushed me in the hall. One day, December 5th I came home from school on a rather brisk day to find boxes lying on the floor.

Curious I shuffle around the house searching for Mom or Josh or Dad. I find Mom in my room putting clothes into a large box labeled Amaya in large bold letters. "Mom?" I ask, "What's going on?"

"We're moving."

"No." I back away and start to shake my head, "I'm not moving, I have friends and a life, and I've got the tennis team. I can't leave them. I'm not moving."

Mom gave me one of her mother looks and bent back over a box.

"I'm not leaving." I fold my arms over my chest and glare. "Moon is too old to move again. And what about Genichiro and Seichi and Akaya! And Kiyomi! What about them! I'm not leaving them."

"Go cry all you want but tomorrow afternoon we're leaving."

No use telling her I'm not going now. My heart clenched inside my chest and I felt my body start to wither at the thought of moving again. "Where are we going? For how long? Will we come back? Is Josh moving with us? How about the cats?"

"Stop with the questions." Mom snapped. "I don't want to move any more than you do! I hate all this packing and unpacking."

"Oh! So packing is the most important thing to you? How about my friends? Huh? Unlike you I actually made ties here that I don't want to break! Why can't Dad move without us, he's been away long enough before!"

"Kokawa Amaya!" Mom snapped at me.

Tears that had been prickling behind my eyes streamed down my cheeks in hot little trails. "I hate you!" I screamed before turning on my heels and running downstairs. I was barely aware that I got my sneakers on as I ran down the street knocking on the door of a house I knew far too well.

"A-" Sanada couldn't even get my name out before I launched myself into him sobbing against him. I'm glad it was my boyfriend who answered the door because I would have hugged the life out of. "A-Amaya? What's wrong?" All hesitation in his voice vanished as he held me at arms length and searched my face. "Did anybody hurt you?"

"N-no." I sob trying to hide my face again.

"Who is it Gen-Chan?" Sanada's Mom calls through the house.

"Amaya!" Sanada calls back before turning to me. "What's wrong?"

"I'm moving!" I gasp for breath.

"What?" Sanada's hands tighten around my arms.

"I-I don't know! I c-came home and…" I try and form as fluent sentences as I can as I sob and heave for breath. "Mom… she… she was packing… I don't want to move!"

"Calm down." Sanada says, "C'mon." He ushers me through the house to his room, thankfully we didn't run into his parents or grandfather because I'm a wreck. Inside Sanada's room I collapse onto his bed and gasp for breath like a fish out of water. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow." Sanada sits beside me and sets his hand on my back. "I don't want to move. I'll miss you and everyone else too much."

"It's not the end of the world… we'll survive some time apart." Sanada says. "I love you."

A new round of tears start streaming down my face as I sat up and threw my arms around my black capped boyfriend. My face snuggles perfectly into the curve of his neck and I breath deeply trying to memorize how Sanada smells. "I'm going to miss you."

"We'll live."

"Will you wait for me?" I murmur.

"Yes." There's no pause or hesitation and I start to cry again. "Please stop crying Amaya. Here, take this with you." Something warm settles on top of my head, his hat. He slides my arms away from his neck so he could stand. I watch as he goes to his desk and pull open a drawer. "I was going to give this to you later… maybe our six month anniversary or some romantic crap like that… since that's what boyfriends do right?" Sanada looks at me awkwardly, his head tilted forward and a blush on his cheeks, there's no hat to hide his expression.

"Yes." I croak out with a soft smile.

"Good, you're smiling." He nods his head curtly before settling next to me. Self-conscious I wipe at my eyes and look at the little white box in Sanada's hands. "Here." The box is light in my hands, my fingers pull the black bow off so I can open the box. Inside is a small silver necklace with a silver heart with the letters G and A in the middle with delicate swirls around it. "I'm glad you like it." Sanada sounds almost amused as I stare in awe at the necklace.

"It's beautiful."

Sanada reaches down and lifts the delicate necklace before putting it around my neck and clipping it. "Now you won't forget me." He mumbles into my hair as he fumbles with the clasp. "Tarundoru!" He growls before I hear the click as the clasp closes right. "Good." He leans back and looks proud he was able to put a necklace on me. "Don't make a fuss about moving. We'll keep in touch. There's that internet Seichii's teaching me how to use." I giggle and Sanada huffs. "Everyone will understand. I promise." He pulls me close, kisses my forehead, and lets me relax into his shoulder.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Will you babysit my cats?"

"No."

"Damn."

When I start to giggle Sanada joins in with his deep chuckle. I didn't figure he'd be too keen on watching Moon, Riot, and Juice, especially since Riot has a habit of attacking Sanada when he visits. Yukimura will babysit them, hopefully.

.-.

Sanada and I cuddle for quite some time, I felt no need to go home since Mom was packing my things when I left and I'd just start crying if I went home. Sanada promised to get everyone to go to the airport tomorrow to see me off, I didn't have the guts to tell them myself. My fingers twirl around the little heart as I lay in bed that night with my Pillow Pet Kanga tucked under my arms.

.-.

"_Here it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you._"

I wake up crying. My body drags itself through last minute packing of my toiletries. Most of the day is mine, our flight doesn't leave until 3, and I'm not going to school. I dress in comfortable jeans, a tee shirt, and one of Sanada's hoodies. To take my mind off things I pull into my sneakers and head down the street. It's early in the morning since I couldn't sleep, and the air is cold against my skin. My feet carry me to the tennis courts that have been forgotten for sometime now. Frost clings to little patches of grass here and there and everything looks dead.

"I knew I'd find you here." A soft voice says.

I turn and smile weakly at Yukimura who walks to me and pulls me into a tight hug. It takes every ounce of my being not to burst into tears.

"Come with me." Yukimura takes my hand in his own and leads me off down the street. The Child of God makes idle chit chat as we walk, stupid things to keep me from crying. None of it helps, the sinking, heavy feeling inside my chest just grows and grows with each step. I don't want to leave this place, I've finally made friends who understand me completely. And what about the tennis team, they need me just as much as I need them.

Yukimura leads me up the steps of some house and opens the door. Curiously I follow, but the second my feet are inside the threshold I'm attacked by multiple bodies. Arms wrap around me, there's crying and promises and words I don't understand. It takes me a moment to realize it's all my friends, all of them. I scramble to think who's house we must be in; neat, cleaned, organized, minimal knick knacks, and a photo of Yagyuu and a young girl near the door. Right. Tears are flowing down my cheeks as I'm lead into a large living room. Hands grab mine and squeeze, people give me hugs, my mind is else where, detaching itself from this moment.

Until 3 everyone tries to be lighthearted, smiling and joking but I try not to pay attention. As much as I want to live in this moment it's too hard right now. I promise to Skype everyone as we get on a bus to head back to my house. Mom had already packed my travel bag and last minute things and was standing with her hands on her hips when we walked up the road. Beside her were three meowing cat carriers, Yukimura had thankfully agreed to babysit until I came home.

"I can't bring all of you." Mom said with a fake smile but the harshness in her eyes said she was pissed. "We'll be late Amaya if we don't leave now, your father and Josh are already at the airport."

Everyone turns to me and each person gives me a long, meaningful hug. Again I try my hardest not to cry, especially when not only Kiyomi but Akaya start crying. Before I know it we're all crying and trying to force smiles, I hope Mom realizes how much I hate her right now as I sob into Niou's shoulder, his hand pats my back as he says thickly, "See ya soon Ladybug."

Everyone waves as Sanada and I climb into Mom's car. Kiyomi was bawling her eyes out and thus decided she would say her goodbye here instead of at the airport, Marui teased her saying she'd make a scene yet he too had tears in his eyes. My hand grabs Sanada's as tightly as I can as my heart hammers inside my chest. I have no idea where I'm moving, when I'll be coming home, or if my relationships with my best friends will last.

Sanada practically has to drag me through the airport because my feet refuse to carry me. His hand is shaking as he grasps my waist tightly. I feel sick to my stomach as Mom checks the last of our bags. Sanada's eyes look darker as they burn into mine. "Come back soon." I nod. "I love you."

"I love you too." I choke out.

"Here." He presses a small plastic bag into my hand. "Open it later, it's from all of us." I feel odd shapes in my hands as I take the bag before putting it into my travel back between a spare teeshirt and jeans. "Don't forget me." We embrace and I start to cry. "Don't cry." Sanada's voice cracks and when I look up he grabs the rim of his hat, now my hat, and shoves my face down. He wasn't fast enough and I saw the tears shining on his cheeks.

"Let's go Amaya." Mom says a little impatiently, she's still frustrated with how bad I've taken this whole moving thing.

"I'll come back soon." I say quickly. "And we can Skype while I'm away! And I'll wait for you! I love you!" I toss myself at Sanada, squeezing my arms around his neck before pressing out lips together. My mind scrambles to remember every last detail about him; the chocolate color of his eyes, his sharp jaw line, his scent, how his lips feel against mine, how warm he is, the way he says my name.

"See you soon Amaya." He murmurs before prying me from his arms. His eyes flicker with sadness as Mom takes my wrist and leads me through security. Tears stream down my cheeks as I look back at Sanada who just stands there and watches me leave. I love you. I'll always love you.

.-.

A/N: Dun dun dun.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

Airplanes themselves annoy me. The seats are uncomfortable, the people around me are unbearable, and the incredibly long delay before takeoff is killer. Flying is the best. Being above the clouds, looking down on the world, the turbulence rocking me to sleep. A little stewardess clicks by in unreasonable high heels and double checks that my seat belt is latched tightly around my waist. Mom sits stoically beside me just ready for takeoff. There's no good movies playing on the flight so I figure I'll just start listening to music when we take off.

There's a little turbulence when we takeoff, I wished for more. A baby starts wailing when we start to climb in altitude, my ears pop and soon enough the baby stops crying too. Mom sighs and relaxes into her seat preparing to sleep. Nerves start to swim in my stomach despite the long flight ahead of me.

.-.

The plane touches down, jolting me awake, the turbulence had rocked me to sleep for most of the flight. Despite the groggy sounds around me I push open my window and allow my eyes to be blinded by light. Someone groans and tells me to close the window in an almost unfamiliar language but I ignore them and watch as the airport comes closer and closer. Mom shuffles in her seat, gathering her carry on from under the seat in front of us and I copy her movements.

People shuffle off the plane in neat lines until there's enough room for everyone to scatter. My eyes scan signs searching for the Baggage Claim, the language feels awkward as I try to make sense of it. Mom clicks by me with her too-high heels and leads me straight to the Baggage Claim. The little conveyer belt hasn't started yet and people mill around waiting to spot their bags. Something inside my stomach twists when I notice people glancing at me, observing me.

"There." Mom says pointing to a hot pink leopard print suitcase. Like a good daughter I push through the crowds and drag the suitcase and two more matching it off the belt. Moments later a royal purple suitcase with a bright green strap rolls by, mine, I drag that off too. Mom and I then strut through the airport side by side. The small amount of food I managed to eat while on the plane threatens to come back up with every step. This is it.

"Amaya!" A voice shrieks and a smile forms over my lips as a warm body collides with mine. My arms wrap around the small body in front of me. "You've changed so much!"

"You haven't changed at all Kiyomi." I smile at my best friend, her hair might have blond highlights and she might have cut it to a short, cute bob, but she's still the same. I've been gone five long months, living in Sweden with my parents and Josh. At the end of the school year Josh moved back to Ireland where he's from and I finally was able to talk my parents into moving back to Japan, to my real home.

Kiyomi's eyes fill with tears before she hugs me tightly around the waist. While I was away I tried my best to keep in touch with everyone but the time difference was difficult and we all got busy with tests and school. Eventually I was only able to stay in touch through the occasional mass email I sent out, and even then I rarely heard back from a few people, most importantly my boyfriend, Yukimura told me he was doing well and just didn't know how to respond to an email without sending it to everyone again.

"Come with me!" Kiyomi grabs my hand and drags me off. After dodging a handful of people we end up at a bench near the entrance where six girls sat wearing bright yellow of Rikkai. A smile blossoms on my face as I stare at my tennis team. Hoshi is up before I can blink, she hasn't changed one bit as she squeezes me hard.

"You're back!" Choshi hugs me next and before I know it everyone is hugging me. Choshi still has her long blue hair and stays right beside Hida who hasn't changed either. Nobody's changed. "You look so good!" Yoshitomi Miu pats me on the back, she was a well built girl with white blond hair and blue eyes. If her tennis hasn't changed she'd be our power house girl. Egami Beniko, Ben-Chan, grabbed my hand and hopped beside me, she was our Ace, her shoulder length dark blue hair made her pale skin look paler and her wide gold eyes brighter.

Mom arrives, heels clicking, and everyone greets her warmly. She just smiles back and glances at me, "You're more than welcome to go out, I'll take the stuff to a taxi. Be home by 5." My girls cheer and loop their arms with me. Just like that things are back to normal.

They chatter on and on about how hard they've been training and that they won the District Preliminaries. I don't have the guts to tell them I haven't played tennis since I left, so I just smile and nod and worry about being their Buchou again. Kiyomi chatters about Momo, Hoshi chatters about Eiji, and the other girls chatter about their crushes and boyfriends. They lead me to the school that hasn't changed one bit since I left, though the whole town feels different, like something's missing or wrong. My feet carry my on auto-pilot to the tennis courts where I hear the familiar _pong_ of tennis. How I've missed playing.

"Amaya!" Kirihara's voice shouts over the noise. A curly mop of black hair pushes through my girl friends to wrap tightly around me. I hug my best friend back with as much force as I can. "I've missed you." He murmurs into my ear before letting me go. "We have to have a party tonight!"

"Yes!" Kiyomi shouts.

"Sushi!" Imai yells out.

Kirihra turns to his tennis team, _his_ since he's Buchou now, and yells, "Run twenty laps and then you're free for the day! Be here bright and early tomorrow!" The boys cheer, thankful for the day off, and start their laps. "I'll call everyone!"

A location is set and everyone runs home to change leaving me alone. My mind knows where it wants to go and before I'm aware I'm standing in front of a traditional house. I can't stop smiling as I knock on the door, the last time I knocked on this door I was bawling my eyes out because I was moving away. Now…

"Oh!" Sanada's mother, Haruko, answers the door surprised. "Kokawa-Chan! It's so good to see you." Her warm arms encase me, "Gen-Chan's in his room."

I smile at her and head through the familiar household, a few knick knacks and new photos have been put up but it all together remains the same. Just before I enter Sanada's bedroom I wait, my fingers curl around the small heart necklace he gave me. Then I hear it, a female's voice. "C'mon Genichiro… Please? She'll never know." I know that voice despite the husky, lustfulness tone. Yamasaki. Here. With _my_ boyfriend. Something close to rage flows through me as I shove the door open to be horrified.

Yamasaki had her legs wrapped around Sanada's hips, her nails digging into his bare chest. Both had wide eyes and from the way Sanada was panting quite a lot had just happened, though they were both wearing pants and Yamasaki had a tank top on. A sneer spread across Yamasaki's face as she wiggled her hips down against Sanada's.

I swore at him. I said words to the both of them I promised myself I'd never say. I swore in Japanese, English, and Swedish. Every bad word I knew came out of my mouth before I ripped off the silver necklace at threw it at them.

"Wait!" The thumping behind me as I rushed down the hall told me he was chasing after me. Hot, angry tears streamed down my face as I ran by Haruko. Sneakers slapped on the pavement as I tried to find my way home without looking. A hand snakes around my waist and I'm pulled into a warm chest. I shriek and slam my fists into the solid body behind me. "Please!" Sanada begs into my ear. "Let me explain."

"Actions speak louder than words, asshole!" I dig an elbow into his ribs hoping to pry free but his arms stay firm around my waist. His face buries into my hair and I feel him breath deeply. "Leave me alone!" I thrash and shove my head back, successfully hitting the cheater's nose. For a split second his grip relaxes and I tear from his grasp. I swear one last time before I run down the road with tears running down my cheeks.

_Please live in the same house. Please live in the same house_. I beg as I run up the steps to another familiar house. A few knocks later and Yanagi Renji stands before me.

"He's cheating on me!" I shriek.

Yanagi smirks, "It's good to see you too Kokawa." He lets me by and into his perfectly organized room. "Genichiro's not cheating on you, I promise."

"That's not what I just saw." I snap as I rub my eyes furiously with a tissue. "Yamasaki was all over him!"

"She was seducing him." Yanagi tells me, "She's wanted Genichiro for years now, and he's been lonely without you, even more distant than usual. Yamasaki took advantage of it. I promise you, Genichiro only has eyes for you. Since we've entered college many girls have asked him out before and he just shakes his head, says your name, and walks away." Yanagi puts his hand on my shoulder, "He really does love you."

"But he… he was still with her… he let her…" I shake my head trying to get the image of Yamasaki straddling my boyfriend out of my head.

"Please, don't take this the wrong way, but he's still a man with urges and needs… apparently he let that get ahead of him today." "So he was cheating on me!" I yelp.

"No. Yamasaki seduced him. Please, believe me when I say Genichiro would never cheat on you." He smiles, "I mean look at how beautiful you are."

"I'm a mess and you know it." I rub my eyes but Yanagi holds a mirror in front of my face. For the first time in a while I really get to see myself. Puffy, red eyes that are still a pretty shade of blue-grey; long, wavy red hair cut to frame my face; a soft tan; defined muscles from running and exercising all the time. I look a lot older than when I left.

"You're beautiful." Yanagi tells me.

"I'm not forgiving him." I retort.

"Let him come to you and accept the mistake he's made. You're worth it."

My fingers search for the necklace but find bare skin. I threw the necklace at them.

"Is that the charm Niou-Kun gave you?" Yanagi asks, his hand going to my charm bracelet. Since everyone basically got me a charm when I left I decided to buy myself a nice charm bracelet. Yanagi's fingers curl around a small red lady bug charm.

"Yea." My voice cracked but I clear my throat and go on, explain who gave me each charm. A little cake from Marui, a cat from Kirihara, sushi from Kiyomi, tennis ball from Jackal, Yanagi gave me a pancake charm, and an assortment of other charms. Whenever I felt sad I'd look down and smile at the charms.

"Renji!" Yanagi's mother calls out, "Genichiro's here."

"No." I growl. "I don't want to see him."

Yanagi hugs me and ushers me into the bathroom, "I'll send him away in a moment." I sit on the toilet seat waiting for that stupid boy to leave. After a moment there's a knock on the door, I pull it open, stare at Sanada before slamming the door shut.

"Amaya." Sanada pleads, the doorknob twisting as I attempt to keep him out. "Hear me out."

"You suck." I yell.

"I know I do." Sanada responds, his voice lowering, "Please Amaya."

Against every fiber in my body telling me to keep yelling at him my heart and mind agree to hear him out. Yanagi said he isn't the cheating type and I really do think I love him with all my heart. So I pull the door open and before I can blink I'm stuffed up against his chest, arms wrapped tightly around me and that musky scent filling my nose. Tears stream down my cheeks as I bury my face into his chest.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers into my ear. "I've missed you so much. I don't know what happened. Please… hate me as much as you want, slap me, kick me, ignore me, dump me, whatever you want… please I just want your forgiveness." I pull back and look up at him, his chocolate eyes are watery and it looks like he's going to start crying. He smiles and a single tear rolls down his cheeks. "You're so beautiful."

"Don't try and charm me." I mutter, "I'm still angry with you."

"As you should be." It's so hard to be angry at someone who accepts any form of punishment without question.

"Tarundoru." I state before slapping his cheek. A red mark forms instantly, Sanada lowers his head, the brim of his hat hiding his face. "Genichiro."

"Yes?"

I put my arms around his neck, "If I ever see you talking to Yamasaki for more than a minute I promise you no woman would ever want to be with you for a second." He nodded his head. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." As much as I'm angry the feeling of his warm arms around me make me want to kiss him senseless. My dreams were never this accurate with how good he smells or how his arms feel around me.

"Kokawa, Genichiro, we're leaving." Yanagi appears, "Kiyomi called and said we're all going out for sushi."

Sanada looks down at me with question. "Shall we go?"

I nod my head slowly and walk with Yanagi out of the house. My heart squeezes inside my chest as Sanada strides beside me on the street. He doesn't reach for my hand and I don't reach for his. For some time the three of us walk in silence until Sanada's hand takes mine, something cool falls into my palm. The necklace.

"Will you take me back and forgive me?" Sanada murmurs.

"I already have." I respond as I clip the necklace back around my neck. "My threat still stands and no affection until I see fit."

"Aa." Sanada agrees as we walk.

"Yanagi the Relationship Protector…" Yanagi murmurs. "No. Yanagi the Relationship Defender… Hmm." I giggle and Yanagi squeezes my arm.

.-.

A/N: Dun dun dun? I decided against writing about Kokawa's life in Sweden… I'll probably make a one-shot though (makes metal note to write all the one-shots she has planned)


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

At the sushi restaurant I'm passed around like a doll between people who hug me close. Everyone tells me how much I've changed, how they've missed me, how they're so happy I'm back. Everyone wants to sit by me and in the end it's Sanada and Kiyomi who get the honor.

"Tell us everything!" Tsukiko states just as the first round of sushi arrives. Everyone agrees and I smile and start to tell the tale of my time in Sweden. People were nice to me, I made a few friends while I was there. It was incredibly cold, I went snowboarding a lot with Josh while I was out there. School was difficult since I knew very little Swedish when I first arrived, knowing a lot of English did help me though. I even managed to teach a few kids Japanese while I was there. But the most I told them about was how much I missed everyone; the parties and sleepovers we had, tennis practice, team bonding nights.

As the night goes on things between Sanada and I get more and more tense. Tsukiko and Jackal are still together and have cute moments where they feed each other or kiss. Kiyomi's been texting most of the evening, and her background picture doesn't escape my eyes; a picture of Momo and her smirking at the screen together. Sanada's presence keeps making my skin crawl and my heart ache. Our hands would occasionally brush and suddenly we're back to being awkward around each other.

.-.

Just like I promised Sanada and I walked to my house at exactly five. His shoulders are tense as we walk to the door together.

"Come inside." I urge him.

"Aa."

There's a loud meow and Riot races by with Juice chasing after her. Oh how old they've both gotten. A few boxes lay about as I head upstairs with Sanada at my heels. We never sold the house, we just moved out so nothing's changed. But suddenly I feel like a parasite or something, like I don't belong. Mounds of boxes are piled in the corner of my room, clearly Mom hadn't touched my things.

Sanada perches on the edge of my bed as I hunt through boxes. "Amaya." He says softly as I yank out a large box titled Clothes. When I hum and glance at him he continues, "I love you." My heart clenches and I turn to him. "I'll never love another woman, and I'm sorry.. So deeply sorry." He drops his head. I stride to him and yank his hat from his hair.

"Stop saying sorry. Just be your normal self… I already said I forgive you."

"Yes… but…" Sanada looks away.

"But what?" "I've missed holding you… and… kissing you." His cheeks turn red and I'm taken back to our bet about not kissing for a week. Somehow we managed five months without kissing, well I did anyways, I'm sure Yamasaki kissed him a few times. "Just one kiss… then you can spend as long as you want being mad at me."

"Who would have thought you'd like kissing this much?" I tease making his cheeks heat up even more. "I love you." I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him gently. His lips are so soft and warm, how I've missed kissing Sanada. Hands grab my hips and move me forward until I'm hovering over Sanada our lips moving around each other. No dreams could ever match the soft feeling of Sanada's hair between my fingers.

The clicking of heels on hard wood make both of us pull away, his cheeks are red, hair astray and he's breathing heavier, but there's a smile on his face. A small satisfied smile. "I've missed you." He murmurs before his hands wrap around me and pull me into a hug. He leans back, pulling me on top of him and I yelp as I'm tossed aside on the bed. Sanada starts to chuckle as he props himself up and looks down at me. "I'm glad you're back though I've been saving my money to fly out to Swe-" I cut him off and give him a little kiss.

"Get unpacking." Mom says as she walks by. With a grunt I sit up and flop off the bed, since our time in Sweden Mom's gotten more and more distant and, to put it bluntly, bitchy. Sanada rolls out of bed and helps me unpack my clothes. When we come across his hoodie and hat we both pause.

"Do you want them back?" I ask, my hand twisting the worn black cap in my hand.

"No. Did you wear it a lot?" "Practically every day." I admit with a shy smile. "Take them home and wear them and wash them… and then give them back." "Why?"

I blush and look down, "Because then they'll smell like you again." Sanada takes the hoodie and hat and sets them aside before helping me put away clothes in my old dresser.

.-.

My phone vibrates against my bedstand waking me from sleep. Pulling me from horrid dreams. Dreams of Yamasaki and Sanada cheating on me, kissing each other without care as I stood there and watched. I'm going to punch that bitch.

Thoughts of punching out the blond fill my head as I skip through the house, preparing for my first day back at school. I'm actually excited to go back to school, I'm eager to see all my friends but at the same time…

Sanada's not waiting for me outside when I leave the house. My heart sinks a little. He probably left early this morning for college; I won't be able to have lunch with Niou anymore, or sit with Yukimura during practice, or walk to school with my boyfriend. Suddenly my backpack weighs a ton, no longer am I excited to go to school, I hang my head and watch my sneakers kick small pebbles. The way to school never felt this long, walking with Sanada made time fly and now that I'm alone each step takes a million years to take.

"Amaya." I look up and smile at the black capped male in front of me holding a small cup of what I know to be a latte. "You're leaving for school early." Sanada states as I walk to his side, the latte is just as sweet and delicious as I remember them even if it burned my tongue. "I was going to surprise you…"

"Trying to butter me up?"

He blushes.

"Oh crap! Yamasaki goes to college now doesn't she?"

Sanada's eye twitches and he nods.

"Darn it. Now I can't punch her."

"Amaya." Sanada warns in his authoritative voice.

"What?" I ask innocently. "She seduced my boyfriend, I deserve pay back."

"Revenge just leads to more hatred." Sanada says cryptically.

"By the way." I punch Sanada's shoulder as hard as I could, my knuckles stung and Sanada rubbed his arm, guess I've gotten stronger. "I don't remember if I punched you or not yesterday." His brown eyes rolled around before glaring down at me. I wonder if he ever wanted to yell at me for hitting him, but this time he really deserved it.

"I have to catch a bus." Sanada leans down suddenly looks like he was going to kiss me but at the last second kissed my cheek. "I'll meet you at school after tennis practice." My heart sinks again, tennis practice. And just like that he runs down a road to catch a bus.

"Aww." A high pitched coo hurt my ears. I turn around to find Beniko grinning from ear to ear with a cinnamon bun perched on the top of her fingers. Beniko was short, even for her age, the top of her head didn't even skim my shoulder. Her small size, close to Choshi's, made her fast and agile, but she had some surprising power. I remember when I first played her how surprised I was by her strength. "Sanada-San is an awful nice boyfriend isn't he?"

"How do you know Genichiro?" I ask as we head down the road together.

"I saw him around school of course." She shrugged and smiled again at me. "I never thought he'd _actually_ go out with someone… he get's so embarrassed over nothing."

"I know." I say a little curtly, obviously I know how my own boyfriend acts.

"Ne, Kokawa," Ben-Chan tugs on my sleeve, "aren't you worried though? Rumor has it Yamasaki has her eyes on him… and now they're alone today without you."

"They're not alone." I say to assure myself, "They're at college, there are plenty of people around. And I trust my boyfriend."

"But… he cheated on you didn't he?"

"Ben-Chan, why do you care?" I ask.

Her large gold eyes blinked at me before she shrugged, "I'm just curious." Please don't tell me she likes him too, I have enough to worry about with just Yamasaki. Thank God Aki is out of the picture with his freaky bro-mance.

When we arrive at school I head to the tennis courts, there's no practice this morning and I'm thankful. The courts look smaller, less green, less new, and more intimidating. What if I forget everything? Everything Kiyomi and I worked so hard to achieve together.

"You didn't play much in Sweden did you?" Otaka's calm voice surprised me. "You get a sad, distant look on your face whenever we mention tennis." Then more gently, "You're still our Buchou, we believe in you."

"But I don't believe in myself Otaka-San." I turn to the Data Star and frown.

"You can do it." She flashes me a smile. "Besides, you have Kiyomi-Buchou to help you." Right, unlike most players, I'm never alone on the court. Kiyomi would never let me down, she covered for me before. "We believe in you Buchou." And just like that Otaka is gone.

For a moment I stand there staring at the court before I turn around and walk off preparing myself for the day. Tennis is like riding a bike or skiing, you never forget. School is something else you never forget. Between math, science, literature, history, and English there's little time for me to enjoy art, chorus, and band, at least I have a study hall. My body aches as I head down to the locker rooms after school, I guess classes in Sweden were easier than here. There's a kink in my back from my backpack as I change out of my school clothes and into my tennis uniform. While I didn't play tennis in Sweden I wore the uniform whenever I went exercising, the bright yellow made me feel bold and noticeable.

Choshi bounds to my side, her hair in a pony tail, she, like the rest of the team, were wearing the sweats instead of the skirt and shirt. Since I personally didn't think it was that cold out I wore the skirt and shirt. Guess that's another thing that's different, the temperature.

"I'm so glad your back." Choshi smiles up at me, "Umeko and I are working on the Australian Formation right now and it's so awesome!" The two of us start running laps, I have no idea how many laps Kiyomi and Imai have the team up to but I'm sure I can run as many as Choshi can as we talk. I'm not out of shape, not yet.

"I'm glad you're all doing so well."

"Of course! We still miss you though. We need a strong Buchou." Choshi makes a serious face and we both start giggling. "There's a lot of slackers now that you're gone, 'specially the freshman."

"Oh, right, I haven't met the freshman yet." Great, if I suck at tennis they'll never respect me.

Choshi laughs, "Don't sound so happy Buchou!"

Hida runs up at that moment and smiles at me. "Good to have you back Buchou."

"Thanks." I nod my head and jog just behind the two. Choshi teases Hida and the taller girl just elbows her shoulder. Hida ruffles up Choshi's hair, commenting how short she is, Choshi's face turns red and she runs faster.

I lose track of how many laps we run, all I know is my body can certainly feel the effort. Wonderful, I'm back to the beginning. Still, I square my shoulders and face the team as they gather, waiting to hear what we'll be doing today.

"Everyone!" Imai ends the little chit chat between people and she glances to me.

"Hi everyone!" I say.

"Hi Kokawa-Buchou!" A large handful of people cheered.

"If you don't know me." I glance to the freshman wearing white and red gym sweats. "I'm Kokawa Amaya, one of the three Buchou's. And I'm back for the year. Now… what's our goal!" I shout.

"Win Nationals!"

"Good." I step back smiling, everyone has the same goal. A few freshman snicker and chat amongst themselves as Kiyomi and Otaka set up today's training regime. Just simple round robins. Perfect. I want to observe my team. I sit on a cool bench and watch the team break up and start practicing. My eyes quickly find Masuzoe, I wanted to know if she improved at all, her skills had improved and she was better but she kept tripping over her feet or swinging too wide. Beniko was ruthless against her sending ball after ball into the girl's blind spot, but like we'd come to appreciate, Masuzoe never gave up.

My fingers twitched and curled around my tennis racket but I wasn't in the round robin and playing a match would just mess everyone up. A hand curled around my shoulder and I glance up curious. "Let's play a match Ladybug." Niou smirks and flicks his rattail over his shoulder. Kiyomi nods her head at me and Niou and I head off to the gym where there was an empty tennis court waiting for us to use. As he walks I notice his shoulder's don't slouch like they used to.

"How's college?" I ask as he stands across from me, bouncing a ball a few times.

"Eh. Hot babes though." He looks up and winks.

I roll my eyes. "Is that all you care about?" The white haired boy tossed the ball into the air and hit it hard. My body moved automatically but I could feel the stiffness and strangeness in my bones, these were motions unusual. Conversation ended as I focused on moving, my shoulders hurt from swings and my wrist ached but I was moving and I was playing. Niou was going easy on me, I could tell from the way he barely moved along the baseline. For some reason I could care less about how hard he was playing.

After many balls bounced by me Niou finally stopped serving. "You have some work to do Ladybug but you're not _that _bad." The trickster drapes the racket over his shoulder as he struts to my side, a few girls who had been in the gym watching us swoon. Was that why he came? To show off for the girls?

"Thanks though… why'd you come Niou?" I ask as we pick up the balls we used.

"Yanagi said you might have some trouble adjusting to life without us. Asked me to stop in and see if you were doing ok." I give Niou a look, _really_? "I'm telling you the truth." He holds up his hands, "Everyone else had work of clubs or something to do today. Besides, I wanted the girls to see me." I roll my eyes and Niou snickers. "So we don't need to come back to check up on you? I mean you do have the Seaweed Head if you need someone… and then you got all them girls on your team."

"Yea, I'll be fine." I shrug my shoulders. "Thanks for coming."

"No prob. I'd ask you to go out and get something to eat but I know _Sanada_-san is coming after school for you." Niou smirks. "He's not Fukubuchou anymore, if you could only see the glares we get when we call him Sanada." I can only imagine. "So, see ya Ladybug. Oh, Yagyuu said to text him soon." Niou waved over his shoulder as we part ways.

The chill in the air freezes the sweat on my skin and for the first time since arriving home I'm cold.

.-.  
>AN: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed :D I want to especially thank Risa for noting a few errors in the story, I should have changed them all by now. :) I'm forgetting small details I wrote a while ago. Also if I haven't made it clear all the boys (except Kirihara) are at college now... so we'll be seeing less of them sadly. I only imagine about ten more chapters for this story, just a heads up. Thank you everyone!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

Everyone runs 10 laps to cool down and people hit the locker rooms. I feel distant as I sit in the office watching Otaka type on her computer. No longer do I feel like I'm a part of the team, not like I used to. Maybe I just need to give it time. Prove to them that I earned my status. There's a knock on the door and Otaka and I look up, everyone should have gone home by now.

"Amaya?" Sanada's voice carries through the door.

"Oh!" I gasp and the door opens. "Sorry, I forgot." I tell my boyfriend sheepishly. Otaka glances at Sanada, nods her head to him, and goes back to her work. "Ah, well I'll see ya tomorrow Otaka."

"Bye." She said without looking up at me.

I gather all my things and sling my backpack over my shoulder. Sanada waits patiently until we exit the locker room together. We walk in silence for a while, I loop our fingers together and start to swing them as we walk. Sanada lets out a grunt and suddenly I'm back to his house watching Yamasaki seduce my boyfriend. My body shivers and my stomach turns so hard I think I'm going to puke.

"Amaya? Are you cold?" Sanada asks, his hand warm on my shoulder. "D-do you want to borrow my jacket? Renji said boyfriends should give their jackets to girls if they're cold. I don't doubt Renji's in-" Sanada starts to ramble until I squeeze his hand tightly. "Are you cold?"

"Yes." I explain not wanting to tell him I keep seeing him cheating on me. He seems to have forgotten the whole thing, he's the nice boyfriend he's always been. Sanada's school jacket falls heavy around my shoulders and I slide off my backpack to put my arms through the sleeves. "How was college?" I ask.

"Fine." Sanada says stiffly.

"Anything interesting happen?"

"Nope."

"Learn anything new?"

"Nope."

I can't stop from smiling at our pointless conversations, that's how we were before I moved and that's how we'll always be. Sanada gives me a strange look when I giggle.

"Uh… how was _your_ day at school?" Sanada asks as he slips his hand through mine.

"Fine, I have a lot of tough classes though."

"If you need help I can help you." Sanada says quickly and I think it was more a reaction to how smart he was rather than being a good boyfriend.

"I'll be fine. I'm quite smart you know."

"I'm aware, I was just offer-"

"I was teasing you hun."

"Oh."

I giggle again and start to swing our hands. We get closer to my house and I can see my father's car in the driveway. A sigh passes by my lips.

"What?"

"My dad's home."

"You don't sound excited."

"He and Mom fight a lot now."

"Oh. I'm sorry. If you… need somewhere to go you know you're welcome at my place. My parents talk about you constantly."

"I know. Thanks for the offer." I shrug my shoulders, "I'll be able to deal with it on my own."

"Ok." We walk up to the door and Sanada kisses my forehead. He turns to leave and I call his name making him turn. We watch each other for a while, part of me wants to kiss him but another part is still hurt by what he did to me. No, he didn't do anything to me, he was just being a guy… and I already said I forgave him. Before I can fully process it I have my arms around his neck and our lips mashed together. Sanada's arms slide around my waist, holding me to him. No dream or fantasy could ever match the feeling of his lips on mine, the warmth of his body, the way his palms pressed against my skin. I pull away first not wanting to have a make out session in the middle of my front lawn. Sanada looks flushed and smiles warmly at me before kissing the top of my head.

The door looks intimidating as I open it, I can already feel tension in the air. My sneakers slide off my feet silently and I realize I'm still wearing my boyfriend's jacket. Guess he'll get it tomorrow.

"No! I'm not leaving again! Go if your going but know this," Mom sounds pissed, "if you walk out that door you're never walking back. Not here anyways. I'm sick of moving and traveling!" "Yell all you want!" Dad yells back and I slink by them trying to ignore their hateful words. "You would be nothing without me! Nothing! You say how much you hate me," my stomach twists with the harsh words, "yet you _love_ spending all my money on shit!"

"Shut up! You realize how much pain your causing our daughter? You're ruining her life!"

"I'm ruining her life? _I'm_ ruining it? How about you? You could actually be home with her and spending time with her! But _no_-"

I feel like I'm going to die. My feet refuse to carry me up the stairs as tears start dripping down my cheeks. Slowly their fighting started to escalate while we were in Sweden, starting with little disagreements slowly moving to hushed arguments late at night to flat out yelling. I want to stop the fights but, honestly, what can I do or say to make them stop? They're not really fighting over me, they're just tired of each other… their love wasn't as deep as I first thought. Suddenly my feet are walking but not up the stairs like I wanted.

My parents stand in the living room, on opposite sides of the coffee table, yelling and pointing and gesturing wildly. They're so focused on their fight they don't realize me until my anger swells inside me.

"_Shut up!_" I yell as loud as I can. Tears blind me as silence takes over the room.

"A-" Mom starts.

"Shut up." I snap. "I'm so sick of your fighting! I don't give a damn if you hate each other or not! You don't even realize how much this hurts _me_! Go to a damn councilor!" I stomp my foot. "Just stop fighting!"

They stare at me before I turn and storm up the stairs. My feet stomp loudly with each step. I hope one of them tries to comfort me so I can scream at them again. The second I flop onto my bed, tears staining the bed sheet, I feel horrible. Sickness and hatred burn inside me and I regret yelling but at the same time I feel it was needed.

An eerie silence fills the house as I lie on my bed crying. I assume my parents have either stopped fighting or left but I could care less. Finally once I can't cry I sit up and peer out the window, both of the cars are gone, the house is empty. There's a large, wet stain from crying but I just move to a dry section before starting on my homework.

Moon slips up onto the bed and curls beside me as I work on a translation. She's nice and warm and purrs when I pet her. Juice mewls and I hear her trying to jump up on the bed. Riot runs by, her feet padding on the floor, and launches herself onto the bed and onto my feet. She looks at me with huge eyes before running off again. Juice, once I lifted her onto the bed, sat contently beside her mother as I did homework.

A car door slams and my nerves jump. Moments later there's a knock on the door, I don't reply, but the door still opens. Mom stands there looking upset. She sighs and sits on the edge of my bed.

"Don't lecture me or tell me stupid things." I tell her. I have enough to deal with without my parents fighting.

"You're right. Look, we talked it over, we're going to go to counseling." "Stop there please." I murmur.

"Alright… just know that we-"

"Love you." I finish, I may not have dealt with this before but I know how the whole parent's fighting thing goes down.

Mom and I stare at each other for a moment before she stands and leaves without another word. I frown, even though I was asking for it, Mom never did say she loved me.

.-.

"_Every day I'm shuffling!_" Upbeat music sings through my phone, my head hurts as I reach for it. My eyes are sticky and crusty from crying in the middle of the night and I feel like my body was hit by a sledgehammer. Still, I pull myself from bed and get ready for the day. As I got ready I stared at myself in the mirror, people kept telling me how much I changed but I don't see it. My eyes are the same, my hair's the same, maybe a little longer than when I left, I didn't grow any taller, and I'm about the same weight as I was when I left. What changed? How I act? What?

By the time I had to leave I still couldn't figure out what changed. Sanada stands waiting at the end of my driveway. I want to fall into his arms and complain about my parents but he doesn't need that burden so instead I squeeze his hand and give him a smile. Sanada doesn't ask and I don't tell as we walk to school.

"Mother asked if you wanted to come over tonight for supper." Sanada asks suddenly.

"Ah, sure." I shrug, I'd rather be out of the house.

"I'll tell her."

We fall silent for the rest of the walk. A kiss goodbye and we part ways. Beniko appears at my side after a few moments. She grins at me, "Sanada-San isn't very romantic is he? Just a kiss on the cheek? Pfft."

"That's just how we are." I tell the girl.

"Oh, when I meet a guy I want him to sweep me off my feet with his kisses." Beniko flutters her eyes. "Not that Sanada-San's not nice, cuz he is… I mean he's so tall and muscular… oh when he holds you you gotta feel so protected!"

"Yes." I brush her off, it's weird to hear her talking about my boyfriend like that.

Beniko flashes me a large smile and we arrive at school not long after. Since it's the off season there's no morning tennis practice, good because it's chilly. I shed my jacket and change my shoes before finding a warm place to read before school starts.

"Amaya." Kiyomi's voice cuts through the silence I found in a random music room. "What are you doing in here all alone?" I lift my book in explanation. "Figures." Kiyomi teases as she drops into a seat beside me. We fall silent as I continue to read, Kiyomi taps her fingers against a drum in a random beat for a moment before speaking, "We should have another sleepover."

"Yea." I agree without much enthusiasm, at the moment I think I'd just break down during the middle of the sleepover.

"We've, well, you know, haven't hung out since you left." Kiyomi sounds as depressed as I feel inside.

"I know… we will hang out soon. I promise."

"Hey, White Day's coming up next week… maybe we can get together and do makeovers."

"Oh, I forgot about Valentine's Day." I had plans to send gifts to all my friends from Sweden but I got busy and completely forgot about it. "Sorry."

"It's alright, none of us got you anything either." Kiyomi shrugs, "There's always birthdays or, better yet, random surprises." Her eyes sparkle with mischief that makes me smile. I smile back, she's right though, maybe I'll bring in random gifts as a late Valentine's Day gift.

.-.

I wake up in the middle of the night to my parents arguing again. They're voices raise and raise and raise in volume as I lay on my bed throbbing from practice. Mom and Dad yell hateful things back and forth, saying how much they hated each other, they only stayed together because of me. I bite my lip as hard as I can and plug my earphones in to tune them out. To get my mind off things I think about tennis practice. Kiyomi and I tried doubles for the first time today, we were good but I don't think we were as good as we were at Nationals.

With determination I went to the street courts and practice and ran laps and stretched until my body had ached and bled. There's no way I'm going to let Kiyomi down, we put so much effort in last year and what have I done?

Hot tears stream down my face. Everything's going to hell and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I stop my music, find my parents have gone silent, and dig out my cellphone.

"Hello?" A groggy voice croaks.

"Genichiro." I sob quietly.

"Amaya? What's wrong?" Instantly my boyfriend's on point like a well trained dog. I sniffle and wipe my nose on my pillow.

"C-can you talk to me?" I stammer helplessly.

There's a long pause. He's going to scold me for calling him so late and then he's going to hang up. "… Niou stuffed a toy lizard into my tennis bag today. I gave him 30 laps and slapped him. Seichii just laughed. Between you and me Amaya, I don't mind Niou's pranks like I used to. He's gotten more and more creative with his big pranks and I think I admire him for having the guts to do such things. Don't tell anyone Amaya."

"I won't." I rub my tears again, his random chatter helps. "I miss all of you guys. I wish we never have to grow up and we could stay young forever."

"No." Sanada says surely, "Being an adult will be much better than any adolescent life." He's back to his Fukubuchou-voice.

"Says who?"

"Me."

"Sure?"

"Positive."

"Hey Gen?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

My heart skips a beat and I smile. "Ok… I'm doing better so… thanks."

"You're welcome. Will you tell me what's wrong tomorrow?" Sanada yawns and I smile again.

"Yea. Good night, hun."

"Good night." Sanada hangs up and I curl into my bed, the wetness of my pillow is uncomfortable but I'm too tired to care. Eventually sleep finds me when I think about Sanada and I and what the future will hold for us.

.-.

A/N: FMA: Brotherhood has taken control of my life D: I'm sorry! But I will continue to write this story I promise!Side note: Does anyone that reads this story also read Want More Fun? If so, should I continue with it? I do have many ideas for that story as well but I'm focused on just finishing this one first before branching off.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

After school I find Niou and Yagyuu leaning against the gates. I hike my backpack higher onto my shoulder and tilt my head at them. Niou grins from ear to ear and Yagyuu greets me politely.

"What are you guys doing here? And where's Genichiro?" I ask.

"He has a project or something to do after school." Niou explains as he drapes his arm over my shoulders. "So we're coming to babysit you." "I don't need to be babysat." I complain.

"We wanted to spend time with you." Yagyuu explains.

I grin. I've wanted to spend time with them too, I'm glad they came and found me because I've been to busy and stressed to really think about anything. The two lead me down the road where we wait for a bus. As much as I want to know where we're going I think I'll let them surprise me. When the bus arrives I settle between the two boys, there's hardly anybody on the bus. As the bus rocks I slide against Niou and then back to Yagyuu.

"How's school?" Yagyuu asks.

"Fine. You guys?"

"Fine." They both reply.

"How's tennis practice going?" I ask.

Niou lets out a snicker and Yagyuu rolls his eyes. "Niou-Kun pranked Buchou the other day and all freshman were required to run 50 extra laps thanks to him." Niou laughs until I elbow him.

"That's not nice." I tell him.

"Hey, I'm the Trickster, I gotta keep up my name Ladybug." Niou stretches back in the seat and slings his arm around my shoulder. After a few more minutes we arrive at our stop, closer to the shopping district. I follow wordlessly as we walk through the crowds together. Eventually we pull into a party store. Even more curious I walk with them all the way to the back where costumes and items for cosplay are on display. Niou grins and lunges across me for a Mario mask before putting it on his face.

"It's'ah me! Mario!" He says in a horrible Italian accent but it makes me laugh none the less. Yagyuu appears behind me wearing a top hat, a cap, and a masquerade mask with purple feathers. Before I know it we're racing around the store wearing zombie masks wielding large, fake axes. A few kids and other people in the store stare at us with wide eyes. I spot an elf hat and get a bow, Niou grabs a large axe, and Yagyuu get's a sword. There in the middle of the store we had a large battle. A few kids joined in and before I knew it we were hiding behind adults and pretending to shoot each other with fake guns. Nothing could tear the smile from my face as I put a large mask on my face to chase after a little boy who was shooting at me.

Eventually an employee told us to stop fooling around and all the fun was ruined. Yagyuu and I neatly organize everything back and the kids hunched their as they walk back to their parents. "That was fun." Niou smirks at me as I put away a pretty, feather-covered mask.

"Yea it was." I say honestly.

"How about tomorrow the three of us run around in cosplay?"

"I've never cosplayed before."

Both Niou and Yagyuu's jaws drop as they stare at me with bug-eyes. "You're totally cosplaying with us tomorrow."

"But I-"

Niou loops his arm with mine and drags me out of the store. "We must get you a costume then. Who's your all time favorite character?"

"Ah?"

We hop on the next bus and head to Niou's house. Nobody's home as we parade up to his room where he promptly begins digging through his closet, tossing out pieces of clothing. A bright red cape, something leather, various wigs, boots and shoes. I sit on Niou's bed as he and Yagyuu discuss cosplay. Eventually the decide and hold out a red shirt and black pants. "Go try it on." I head into the bathroom and pull into the pants that are stitched around the ankles and the shirt that's a Chinese shirt, red with white edges on the sleeves, gold clasps, and a black belt. I think I know the anime it's from but I head into Niou's room unsure.

"Perfect." Yagyuu smiles.

"No, braid her hair." Niou complains.

Sure enough, Yagyuu braids my hair and says, "You're Ranma."

"I knew it." I smile, I saw the show a few times as a child and thought it was funny.

"You have black flats right?" Yagyuu asks. When I nod he smiles, "Bring them tomorrow. Can you braid your hair like this or do you want me to do it tomorrow?"

"I can braid my hair." I state, I am a girl after all.

"Good. We'll pick you up tomorrow after school." Niou nods his head.

"Let's go home." Yagyuu says, "I'm sure you have homework to do."

The bespectacled man and I walk home side by side without saying anything. Today's been a great day, I can't believe how much I've missed hanging out with all my friends. We get close to my house and share goodbyes before parting ways. I walk with a skip in my step, nothing could ruin my mood today. As I near my house I wonder if I should go say hi to Sanada but decide against it, I'll just text him later. My house is empty when I head inside. Riot mewls loudly and races into the bathroom. Out of cat food. I trail after the white cat and soon enough Juice and Moon have gathered around my ankles as I pour them cat food. They meow and purr before digging in. Their fur is soft and luxurious under my fingertips as I give each one a good rub down. Then it's off to the living room to turn on some music and work on homework.

I get so absorbed in my reading for English I lose track of time. Only when a car door slams and my stomach growls do I realize how late it is. Mom's heels sound through the house and the door slams behind her. "I have take out." She calls out before her heels head upstairs. Following my stomach I find a box of pizza on the kitchen table, better than nothing. Mom doesn't return from upstairs the rest of the night. She does that a lot, avoids me and leaves, more since I yelled at them for fighting than before.

.-.

"_Racing faster, escape disaster, partners in crime will leave their mark. We make our own way, no thoughts of yesterday. Black hearts of chrome and battle scars._" I smile, today Yagyuu, Niou and I are going to cosplay. I take special care in folding and packing the black pants and red shirt between my tennis stuff in my bag.

Outside Sanada waits, his head hung low. "Hey, what's wrong?" I call out. He shakes his head and I watch his shoulders shake. "Genichiro?" I wrap my hand around his and tilt his head back with my other hand. Tears fill his eyes and panic races through me. "Genichiro what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Amaya." Please don't break up with me. Please don't break up with me. "She came onto me." Yamasaki? "I couldn't stop her. I tried. I really did." A tear slips down his cheek. "I-I… I meant to tell you yesterday but… but I couldn't… couldn't face you." He turns away and takes his hand from mine. "I understand if you hate me."

"What happened?" I press.

"She kissed me a lot… among other things…" His face heats up as I trail after him. His hands rub his cheeks to wipe the tears away. "I'm so sorry Amaya… I understand if you want to…" His voice catches. "If you want to break up with me."

"No. I don't." I say surely. "It's not your fault. It's that… that bitches." My hands clench into fists, I want to punch her out. Our silence is full of tension as we walk to school, I think if I speak I'll burst into tears and then punch something so hard my knuckles break. At the spot we part ways I hug him tightly around the waist before running off, no goodbyes. I race as fast as I can to school, I'm in no mood to deal with Beniko this morning.

The rest of my day is just as tense as the morning, I couldn't talk to anyone because there were always other people around, and my hands were constantly clenching so hard my knuckles turned white and my hands shook. Part of me is upset with Sanada for letting her do what she did but I'm more frustrated with Yamasaki. She can't steal my boyfriend from me. We love each other and she's just some bitch.

"Dude, you look like you're going to kick some puppies." Kiyomi says as we settle in our office. Just the two of us.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask with amusement.

"You're pissed and I want to know why."

"Yamasaki." And when I tell her what happened I cry and Kiyomi slams her fist into the back of her chair. Then, just as I expected, Kiyomi rants off about how she's going to kill Yamasaki, and punch her face in, and make her pay for what she did. Always the sane one I calm her down until the bell rings and we both go back to class ready to punch someone's face in.

Imai cuts practice, the wind kicked up after lunch and it's too brutally cold for them to practice in. I found it cold, but not cold enough to cancel practice, I didn't argue because I wasn't in any condition to coach. I pull my hat down over my ears, a hat I got from Sweden with real rabbit fur to snuggle against. Kiyomi and I walk side by side until we both see a figure that makes us stop dead in our tracks.

Bright blond hair with a crowd of girls around her. Yamasaki flips her hair over her shoulder and continues to tell a story looking pompous. As we get closer I hear her telling the story of how she seduced my boyfriend.

"He was so easy. That girlfriend of his doesn't touch him at all. Oh, he was so willing when I told him all the dirty things I was going to do." Anger swells inside me and I step forward.

"Shut your mouth."

Yamasaki looks up at me and the girls all part away. She smirks when she sees me. "What? You know it's the truth. Don't deny it."

"No! Genichiro would never do something like that willingly. I believe him because you're a whore."

Yamasaki steps right up to me. "You're boyfriend was so horny when I told him everything I was going to do. It wasn't my fault he had needs that weren't being fulfilled by a pathetic girl like you."

Something snaps inside me. Like a chain was broken. Fury races through my body as I take a step back. I lift a fist and punch her hard square in the nose, blood gushes from her nose as she stumbles back. I don't give her time to recover as anger controls my body. I tackle her to the ground and punch her again and again until she's screaming and crying underneath me. Hands grab my shoulders and pull me away, I kick out and thrash, screaming back at Yamasaki who curls into a ball and starts to sob.

Everyone stares wide-eyed at me as I recover and push the fury back inside me. Then I realize what I've done. Yamasaki's face is covered in blood, she holds her nose, and her hair is more red than blond. My knuckles, also covered in blood, start to grow cold as the air freezes the blood. Niou and Yagyuu wrap their arms around me and even Kiyomi looks a little horrified at what I did.

"Oh God." I murmur.

"Let's go." Yagyuu whispers before pulling me away from the scene.

"Oh God." I repeat.

"That was irrational." Yagyuu states as we head in the direction of the sports park, there will be a bathroom and a place for me to clean up. My body shakes with the shock and cold and I feel tears freezing against my cheeks.

Both boys fall silent as we reach the park. Yagyuu, always the adult one, finds a facet and lets the water run while he rubs my hands clean of the blood. Then he grabs a fist full of my hair and forces my head under the water. The water was cold as ice and makes my whole body shake and shiver. I cry harder. Finally my head's pulled from the water and wrapped in a towel that smells faintly of sweat and ginger. Arms wrap around me and two hands ruffle the towel against my hair for quite some time.

"C-c-c-cold." I chatter as the ice settles into my skin.

I hear a loud zip and a jacket drops onto my shoulders and my hat appears back on my head. Slowly but surely warmth starts to spread through my body as we sit on a bench all together.

"As much as I love a cat-fight that was pretty brutal Ladybug." Niou says, "I've never seen you _or_ Yamasaki like that. You were pretty bad ass, I have to say."

"Niou-Kun." Yagyuu scolds. "Kokawa-Kun, you really should have controlled yourself… I'm aware of the pain she's caused you but-"

"It already happened… I can't control the past." I murmur into Niou's jacket.

"I'm aware of that." Yagyuu says, "Learn from your mistakes."

"I do."

We fall silent, I close my eyes and curl into the warmth of the jacket while shivers run up and down my spine. After a few moments arms wrap around me and pull me close to a warm body. I smell a spicy musk and my eyes snap open to find Sanada hugging me like the world's going to end tomorrow.

"I'm so sorry." He apologizes.

"I was the one who punched her and I was the one who made her hate me in the first place." I say almost numbly, I don't want to be here anymore, I can only imagine the trouble I'm going to find myself in.

"But I-"

"Stop." I say pressing my hands to his chest. "What's done is done. I don't think she's going to bother either of us now… but I don't want you to go anywhere near her ever again. And if I find out she's done something, no matter how hard you tried to stop her, I _will_ be incredibly pissed with you."

"I understand." Sanada murmurs, his hands clench and unclench against the small of my back. "I really do love you…"

"I love you too… you just do stupid things some time." Niou snickers behind me and I kick my foot out landing it against his shin. "I'm sure I do stupid things too, though." I smile up at my boyfriend and find him smiling back at me. I'm pretty sure it'd be impossible, or highly unlikely, for me to get as pissed at Sanada as I was with Yamasaki today. And I think that's a good sign.

"I guess we'll go cosplay this weekend." Niou states as Sanada and I stare at each other.

"Guess so." I reply softly.

.-.

I ended up with two weeks detention and a month off from the tennis team. My month ends today. Yamasaki evicted herself from mine and Sanada's life and rumor has it she moved to Tokyo. Kiyomi and Hoshi told me everyone on the tennis team would accept the apology I had to write and allow me back as their Buchou/Fukubuchou. I made a schedule where every weekend I would hang out with one, or more, of my friends tying the bonds that have thinned from my time in Sweden. My parents fight less, at least in front of me, they go to counseling three times a week and one day a month I have to go and hear all about their progress. Turns out they're both stressed out and Mom's decided to quit her job and be a stay at home-mom to the kittens and me when I'm home.

Monday morning rolls around and I swing myself out of bed with a smile. Today's the day I get my team back. I skip outside wiping Mom's lipstick from my cheek and find Sanada standing there with a wide smile. As I approach he holds out a small box to me. The box is small and made of a black velvety material. It snaps open easily and I stare at two small silver rings.

"Wh-" I start to question.

"They're promise rings." Sanada says quickly taking the box from my hand to take out the two rings. The smaller one he slides onto my finger, my left ring finger, the metal feels cold against my skin. "I promise that I'll always love you and I'll stay faithful in our relationship and nothing will come between us." My heart thumps, that sounded an awful lot like a proposal. "I… I love you." He presses the other ring, much thicker, into my hand and lets me slide the ring onto his ring finger as I repeat the exact same words he said feeling honest and right.

"I love you too." I tell him before we kiss.

"Oh!" Mom's voice sounds from behind us and we pull away quickly. "I'm glad you're still here! I have great news!" Mom rushes forward and grabs my hands in her hands, she notices the ring but her news is too important to question the silver promise ring. "I'm pregnant!"

My knees give out.

Sanada catches me as I stare at my mother who just beams at us. "You're going to be a big sister Amaya!" Oh God. My hand claws for Sanada's hand as she hugs me tightly around the neck. Our hands meet and he squeezes my fingers tightly. Mom's pregnant. She's going to have a baby. There's going to be a baby in the house. Oh God.

"I-I have to go to school Mom." I stammer out not quite sure how to take this new information. I'm not sure I can handle being a big sister, especially at my age… that's going to be a huge age difference between me and the kid. Mom lets me go and gives me another lipstick kiss on the cheek before racing back into the house.

"Oh God." I say as Sanada pushes me down the road.

"Exactly." Sanada rubs his hand against my cheek, wiping away the lipstick, the coldness of his ring sends shivers down my spine. "I'll be here for you… but… I don't like babies."

"I don't either." I reply, sure I've been near my fair share of bubbling, puking, sleeping babies but never for an extended period of time. "Oh God."

.-.

At school everyone notices the ring, how in the world they're able to notice the small silver band on my hand is beyond me. Everyone asks if I'm engaged to Sanada and when the wedding is going to be and why we're getting engaged so early in life. I have to tell multiple people it's just a promise ring, but some refuse to believe me. During history I find myself spinning the ring around and around in circles, it fits perfectly on my finger. I give it a quarter turn and notice something on the ring. I look closer and find he's engraved our initials into the ring.

"Kokawa, is there something more important than history?" Sensei asks and the class snickers that the good student like me got caught. I look up and smile at Sensei.

"No Sensei." I respond like the good student I really am. Kiyomi sends me a knowing smile and I start to play with the ring once more. Maybe someday Sanada and I _will _get engaged. Maybe we'll buy a big house up north and spend the winters down here visiting with all our friends. Maybe someday we'll raise a baby of our own that'll cry and wake us up in the middle of the night and we'll fight about who's turn it is to tend to the baby. Maybe, just maybe, Sanada will ask me and be romantic when he gets down on one knee and holds out the little black box filled with our future. And without any maybe's I know I'd say yes.

.-.

A/N: The end. I know I promised a lot more chapters but I have a feeling if I put this story off any longer it'll never get finished (what with my obsession with FMA and school and the fact this story has lasted… _four months!_). I will promise an epilogue and a lot of one shots, I might even end up writing a short story about Amaya's and Sanada's future but I'm not , I want to thank _everyone_ who's read (and reviewed) the story. You guys are the reason this story has continued as long as it has (I would have given up months ago if it weren't for all the loving reviews I got from everyone) I'm glad you've enjoyed my you!


	23. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters. I don't own any franchises, songs, video games, ect mentioned either (like Facebook, song lyrics, and DDR).

If you notice any spelling, grammar, plot errors please let me know. I will fix them as soon as I can. Reviews are always nice, like the chocolate syrup on top of a banana sundae, but aren't necessary.

.-.

"Aw what a sweet baby! Is she yours?" A woman asks peering down at little Ryoko in my arms. I glance down at the baby dressed in a little pink dress with a matching hat to hide her bald head. Ryoko let out a squeal and stuck her fist into her mouth making me smile.

"Yes." I say with a smile as the woman tickles Ryoko's round tummy.

"She looks just like you." The woman smiles up at me and I can't help but agree except for her deep chocolate eyes. "What beautiful eyes."

"Mhm, thanks." I say before excusing myself. I have someone I need to meet. Ryoko coos and gargles as I walk down the side of the road. It's starting to warm up finally so Mom allows Ryoko to be out in dresses.

It's not hard spotting him, tall, broad shoulders, black cap. When I step up beside him my boyfriend looks down and smiles. "Hey Amaya. Ryoko." He gives each of us a kiss, mine on the lips and Ryoko's on the cheek. "Isn't it cold for her to be out in a dress?" I hand the baby over and watch Sanada decide how he should hold her.

"She has tights on, and it's a nice day." I explain as we head down the street together. "Since when did you becoming the concerned one?"

"I don't want her catching a cold."

"Aw, how sweet, you care about Ryoko."

"Of course I care about her." Sanada says defensively as we enter a department store. Ryoko's starting to grow out of all her old clothes and I think she needs a cute outfit. Sanada, probably a little peeved, follows me through the store where I pluck out cute outfits that would fit my baby.

"Oh, Genichiro! When she gets old enough we can teach her how to play tennis! Won't that just be the cutest thing?" Sanada smiles wide at the idea and picks up an outfit with little frogs on it, he holds it up to Ryoko and puts the dress in the cart with the other clothes I'm going to buy.

"Are you sure your mother won't mind?"

I give him a look. "We're rich remember? I can do whatever I want." Sanada sighs and we check out. "Seiichi tells me that he'll babysit her next Tuesday for us."

"Oh, good, I don't want your parents always watching her whenever we have to go to counseling."

"Aa. Seiichi will watch her… and I'm sure if you ask Renji or Hiroshi they would too. I'm sure any of them would watch her. Everyone loves Ryoko."

"Yea, I know." I glance down at the baby asleep in my arms as we head home together. "I just… I feel a little weird about others watching her that isn't your parents or mine…"

"Aa." Sanada says.

When we arrive at my house Mom flirts into the room with a wide grin. "What did your sister get for you today?" Mom coos as she plucks her child from my arms that feel cold instantly with the absence of her body. "Look at you! My precious little baby." Mom wiggles her nose against Ryoko's and the baby squeals and grabs a fist full of Mom's hair. I smile and take Sanada up to my bedroom where we relax on my bed.

"I told someone Ryoko was my baby today." I say. "It's true though… with how much we watch her and take care of her, she is practically our child."

"Aa."

"I never wanted a child," I say, "I thought they'd be puking all the time and crying but… Ryoko isn't that bad a baby."

"No, she's not." Sanada grabs my hand and our rings clink together. "Maybe in a few years we'll have our own baby like her."

"I like the name Yuki and Suzu for a girl." I say.

"Those are nice names." Sanada buries his face in my hair and kisses my neck. "I like the name Amaya." I giggle, his breath tickles. Beniko would be proud to know how romantic Sanada really is. Our rings clink when I squeeze our hands together.

As we lay side by side I wonder when we'll get married, ever since Mom's belly grew huge from the baby inside her I thought about it more and more. I wanted to be a mother, I wanted have someone by my side constantly, I wanted a husband to love forever. Even though Mom and Dad went through a rough patch, and we still go to counseling, they tell each other they love each other a lot. I love the look Daddy gets on his face when he looks down at Ryoko while she's sleeping, it's the same look Sanada gives her. I wonder if they look at me like that when I'm sleeping or not paying attention.

"I love you." I say out loud.

"I love you too." Sanada murmurs against my hair before he sighs and pulls me close. I listen as his breathing deepens and he drifts asleep with our fingers entwined, downstairs Ryoko lets out a squeal and her musical giggles sound up the stairs. When I close my eyes I can feel everything, Sanada's chest moving against my back, his breath moving my hair against my face, I move my head a little and listen to his heartbeat before I let myself fall asleep.

.-.

Another year passes. I sit at the kitchen table watching Ryoko run around with Kiyomi. They both stop and look up at me and smile. Last month Kiyomi and I moved into a small apartment together, Momoshiro comes over quite often and Ryoko spends most of her time with us since Mom's back to work. Sanada's at school working on his final project for college. I sigh and smile.

"So when's Gen-Chan going to ask you to marry him?" Kiyomi asks as she hoises Ryoko high into the air.

"Wee!" The redheaded baby squeals. "Gen! Gen!" I'm not sure if she meant Genichiro or again, but either way Kiyomi tosses her back into the air.

"I'm not sure." I respond, "I don't think he will until after we've both graduated. He wants to open a dojo, that's going to take a lot of his time."

"And what about you?"

"I'm getting a job at the high school." I say, "They've already asked me to go and teach English there. You?"

"I'm going to be a cop." Kiyomi holds up her hands like a gun and Ryoko tries to copy the motion. "Momoshiro, well, I have no idea, he'll find something to do."

Ryoko curls up in Kiyomi's lap and grins up at her. Ryoko looks just like me with brown eyes, it's no wonder people think she's mine and Sanada's child. I hope my baby looks like her.

Kiyomi suddenly smiles at me and holds up her left hand, there on her ring finger is a small band with a little glittering stone. "He asked me to marry him yesterday."

"What!" I dive off my chair to sit beside Kiyomi, observing the delicate ring. "No way! How'd he do it?"

"You know him, he just handed me the box and said, 'I love you, say yes.'." She laughs. "It was so unromantic but… it's him." She shrugs.

"Yea, can you imagine him getting down on one knee and saying 'W-w-will y-you m-m-m-marry me?' with that stutter he used to get when he tried to be really sweet?" We're both giggling and Ryoko joins in for the fun of it. "I'm so happy for you." I say honestly. It only makes sense they get married, they've been perfect for each other since the day they started to date.

The door swings open and Sanada enters the room. Ryoko jumps from her aunts lap and races to Sanada. "Up! Up!" She demands and Sanada does so with a large smile. "Gen-Gen!" She gives him a wet kiss on the lips and he furrows his eyebrows for a moment. Ryoko lets out a mischievous giggle and Sanada sets her down. Her meaty fists grab his hat from his head and races off to her play room.

"She's a brat." Sanada grunts as he wipes his lips. "Can I have a real kiss?" He bends down towards me and I give him a quick kiss. "Momoshiro finally get the nerve to ask you to marry him?" He asks Kiyomi, she grins and waggles the ring in front of his face.

.-.

Kiyomi runs Ryoko home so Sanada and I can have some time alone. We sit in front of the TV and just listen. My eyes keep going back to the silver band on my finger, I keep seeing the glittery, newness of Kiyomi's engagement ring. She's going to be so happy with Momoshiro.

"I'll marry you once you graduate." Sanada says in my ear.

"I don't care when we get married." I say too quickly.

"I know you're jealous Amaya. I know you." He sighs, "I don't want us to rush into marriage and ruin our chances at a good career… children make jobs hard."

"B-"

"I love you and I promise I'll marry you Amaya. Just not yet." I drop my head and frown, it's been three years since we started dating and he still doesn't want to marry me. But I love him and I've waited three years, I can wait another year. "Seiichi wants to be the best man." Sanada says suddenly.

"It's only fair you pick the best man." I tell him though I can already hear Kirihara fighting to be the best man. Maybe even Niou would try to be the best man, we have gotten quite close over the years, once a month we go out and cosplay together and get lunch.

A car door slams outside and the door opens moments later. Kiyomi says goodnight and heads off to bed. With a sigh I drop my head onto Sanada's shoulder. He takes my chin and tilts my head back to give me a strong kiss. He pulls away and smiles. "I'll see you tomorrow ok?"

"Alright." I say.

One last kiss before he leaves me alone. I twirl the ring around my finger again and again, he's made his promise and Sanada's not the type of man to break one. Still, with Kiyomi getting married and all my old friends growing up and moving away, I feel like I'm still the same girl I was when I moved to Rikkai High all those years ago. I close my eyes and relax into the couch, my mind drifting away to thoughts of Kiyomi's wedding and how beautiful she'll look.

.-.

A soft breeze blows through the night as I stand on the front porch. Ryoko chases after Kiyomi, Momoshiro, and Sanada in the streets. Ryoko shrieks and stomps her feet. "No fair! No fair!" She shouts.

"Ryoko! You should go in and wash up! You have school in the morning." I call out.

"But-"

"No buts. Mom won't be happy with you if she finds out how late you stay up at your sister's house." Ryoko pouts but brushes by me and heads inside to get ready for bed. Momoshiro grins and starts to chase his wife around the street, she shrieks and tries to swat at him. Sanada appears at my side.

"Why didn't you join us?" He asks, his hand sliding into mine, "You love playing with Ryoko."

"I have something I need to tell you." He waits and I slide my hand to my belly. "I'm pregnant."

The trees rustle as I wait for Sanada's response. It's too long and I think he'll be upset, we have been married a few months and we both just settled down with good jobs. Suddenly he pulls me into his chest. "I'm so happy… you're going to be a great mother and the baby will be just beautiful." Something wet drips onto my head and when I look up he's crying.

"Why are you crying?" I ask, touching his wet cheek.

"Not only will I have one person to love forever but I'll have two." His hands press to my stomach and he smiles. "I'm going to be a father. I'm going to be a father." His eyes sparkle and then, when he looks at me, I swear his face glows. I close my eyes and his lips meet mine in a gentle kiss.

.-.

A/N: This really is the last of Amaya and Sanada. I said it before, I do have plans for an occasional one-shot but there will be no more multi-chapter stories. I'm going to end it here, I figure it's a good place to end. I apologize for ending it so quickly, I know a lot of you like the story and I thank all of you for all your support throughout the story! Amaya loves you!


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